La Haine UHD

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Screenplay: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui
Country: France
Running Time: 98m
Year: 1995

1993 to 1996 is an astonishingly fertile period of film. Cinema’s last great period I think, where indies mingled on the big screen alongside event films. Franchise fever would hit by at least 2001 and between Harry Potter, Marvel and streaming, you really have to look hard for the cutting-edge stuff. It’s still there, but not like the mid-90s when we had Pulp Fiction, Se7en and Trainspotting rubbing shoulders. And this, Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine.

Set in the “banlieues” Paris suburbs across 24-hours following police brutality that resulted in their friend being shot, La Haine follows three youths. One black, one Jewish and one North African, all disaffected and fueled by the unrest that’s threatening to tip over into another riot at any moment. “La Haine”. “Hatred”.

Seems like dark material, but it’s a similar pitch to Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting; the strong subject matter cut through by humour and boredom. Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui could be just as easily milling about in Glasgow while they swap banter about girls, haircuts and cause minor levels of havoc during a trip to Paris – a city we only see in the background, a city they can never feel part of. Bubbling under what amounts to high-jinks are dangerous life-choices; Cassel has found a pistol lost by a policeman in the most recent riots. His bravado boasts of killing a cop should their friend already in custody dies.

That’s the key difference in La Haine. These three lads might be like any others, but there’s a sense of foreboding throughout the film. Tension is growing. The fabric of their reality could tear at any moment. Maybe it’s a stereotype that the French have a propensity for rioting, but there is a sense that something is going to explode soon.

Kassovitz’ direction is incredible, maintaining that sense of driving forward even while the three leads seem to lack any momentum of their own. They drift from disaster to farce and back again, but the real constant is Kassovitz’ camera. His intensity is all his own, though he fits nicely in that 90s period marked out by Besson, Fincher and Boyle. There are segues of profound beauty as he works potential from every scene. That driving sense of momentum -so essential to the narrative- isn’t lost for a moment in a film that could only be a film.

Helping to keep the film centred is the intensive performance by Cassel. His open and expressive face reminded me of Buster Keaton, accentuated by a larger than life performance. And yet, it is a generous performance that never unbalances the other two. Together, they ensure a dark and troubling story is surprisingly and easily watchable, as well as timeless. This is us then. It is us now. It will be us tomorrow.

VIDEO

Film always responds well to UHD, but black and white is another level. The silky style of the film responds beautifully to a bold contrast, especially considering Mathieu Kassovitz’ gorgeous depth of field. The detail is sharp and engaging. It’s a film that could easily have been a kitchen-sink drama and all the locales feel lived in and steeped in atmosphere. This is present in the transfer throughout, there’s a tangible depth to the image regardless of if it’s someone’s scruffy bedroom, or the Paris skyline.

EXTRA FEATURES

This is a fabulous release from the BFI. Thorough and valuable. It lacks the eccentricity of some of their other releases, but that’s just an observation.

The introduction from Riz Ahmed is very good. He sums up the film beautifully (“Raging Bull via Italian realism”, which is dead on). His explanation is inspiring and important, speaking to what cinema could be – what it has always been. We get distracted by the constant conversation about cinema now, but this is what will always be timeless.

Otherwise, this is an extraordinary mix of vintage and new material. The colour deleted scenes, 80+ minute making-of documentary and short films all stand out.

• 4K restoration supervised by director of photography Pierre Aїm and presented on UHD in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Alternative soundtrack by award-winning electronic music collective Asian Dub Foundation. Recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall in 2025
• Audio commentary by Mathieu Kassovitz (2004)
• Redefining Rebellion (2020, 5 mins): film critic and programmer Kaleem Aftab explores the spirit of revolution in La Haine
• Screen Epiphany: Riz Ahmed introduces La Haine (2020, 14 mins): the award-winning actor talks about his connection to the film
• Interview with Mathieu Kassovitz (2020, 35 mins): interview with the actor, writer and director
• Three short films by Mathieu Kassovitz: Fierrot le pou (1990, 7 mins): a young man shoots hoops (or tries) in a gym, in an effort to impress a young woman, Cauchemar Blanc (1991, 10 mins): a group of white men carry out a racist attack in the banlieue, and Assassins (1992, 12 mins): Kassovitz’s short film that he later developed into the feature Assassin(s) in 1997
• 10 Years of La Haine (2005, 84 mins): feature-length documentary marking the 10th anniversary of Matthieu Kassovitz’s award-winning film
• Casting and rehearsals (1995, 19 mins)
• Anatomy of a Scene (1995, 7 mins): a look at the shooting of a particularly challenging scene
• Behind the Scenes (1995, 6 mins): Kassovitz, his cast and crew prepare to embark on making La Haine
• Colour deleted and extended scenes (1995, 17 mins): including afterwords by Mathieu Kassovitz on selected scenes
• Original trailers
• 25th anniversary trailer
• 80-page book featuring writing by Ginette Vincendeau and Kaleem Aftab, an interview with Mathieu Kassovitz, archival essays and reviews, and more