La haine

Mathieu Kassovitz’s La haine became an instant phenomenon in France and the international film community upon its release in 1995, and it’s only become more chillingly relevant since. After its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, where Kassovitz earned the Best Director award, France’s César Awards named it the year’s Best Film. It also became a lens through which French politicians, commentators, and moviegoers across ideological lines could engage in a dialogue about the issues raised in the film. While the subject matter addresses the social conflicts that run rampant in banlieues—a term for the suburban regions on the periphery of French cities—it reverberates through the country’s history of so-called urban riots, the government’s tendency to blame those riots on immigrants, and their escalating police response, as well as their failure to adequately address systemic racism and social exclusion. Through a gritty, stylized realism that draws on clear antecedents, Kassovitz turns La haine (translation: hate) into an experience that’s not only thrillingly made but also sparks debates that persist today, both about the film and its status as a reflector of the problems in French society.

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