La Haine

"How far you fall doesn't matter, it's how you land…"

1995 1h 38m FR

🙌

8.1

BANGER

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

8.1

IMDB

★8.1TMDB · 4,740🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes★8.1IMDB · 223,323

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.

“How far you fall doesn't matter, it's how you land…”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Vincent Cassel
Vinz
Hubert Koundé
Hubert
Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd
Abdel Ahmed Ghili
Abdel
Solo
Santo
Joseph Momo
Ordinary Man
Héloïse Rauth
Sarah
Rywka Wajsbrot
Vinz's Grandmother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Writers: Mathieu Kassovitz
Languages: French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, shot by Pierre Aïm. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Scott Stevenson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vincent Cassel and Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "How far you fall doesn't matter, it's how you land…".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0113247 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mathieu Kassovitz directs. Pierre Aïm behind the camera. Scott Stevenson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.
331 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, shot by Pierre Aïm. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Scott Stevenson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Vincent Cassel and Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "How far you fall doesn't matter, it's how you land…".
8IMDB entry: tt0113247 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 22 themes, including "police brutality", "hip-hop", "paris, france", "socially deprived family".
10Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Pierre Aïm
Editing: Scott Stevenson
Production design: Giuseppe Ponturo
Costume design: Virginie Montel
Makeup / hair: Sophie Benaiche
Sound: Vincent Tulli
Stunt coordinator: Philippe Guégan
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,600,000
Box office: $15,300,000
Return: 588% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: La Haine (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 8.1/10 · 223,323 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

8 wins & 15 nominations total

Young European Film of the Year
Lumière Award for Best Director
Lumière Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Mathieu Kassovitz

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CRCulver2018-09-01
★ 7/10
Matthieu Kassowitz's La Haine (Hate) is a portrait of youth disenfranchisement and the ensuing rage set in the public housing projects outside Paris. Before this film was released, many foreign viewers knew only the well-dressed, white, reserved and educated France depicted in e.g. films of the 1960s New Wave. Even many French people were unaware of the darker undercurrents of their own society, as no film had dared to handle this subject matter before. La Haine was a bombshell. While shot in 1995, it remains entirely topical today, as riots have continued to make the news in recent years. La Haine follows one day in the lives of three young men of different ethnic backgrounds all born and raised in one particular housing project: the aggressive Jew Vinz (Vincent Cassell), the insecure, clownish Arab Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui) and the more level-headed, pensive sub-Saharan African Hubert (Hubert Koundé). The film opens on a spring morning, in the aftermath of a riot which has rocked these youths' housing project. Some cars and buildings are destroyed, and the news reports that a police officer has lost his gun in the chaos of the night before. During the 24-hour period before the film's shocking ending, this trio tours the bittersweet environment of their housing project (violence and poverty on one hand, loving families on the other) and, in an effort to pick up money owed to them, they navigate the alien environment (rich, educated, white) of downtown Paris. This is not only a revelatory film in showing viewers a side of France they had never seen before, but it is also extremely entertaining. The performances by these relatively unexperienced actors are totally convincing, Vincent Cassell in particular. Kassowitz shuns his country's own film tradition and instead sculpts the action under inspiration from the USA. However, the "urban", "hip-hop" aesthetic he employs does not lower the film to the more vacuous Hollywood productions but instead is at the level of Spike Lee and Scorsese. The director's decision to print the film in black and white has imbued it with a gravitas that makes it timeless. That said, in spite of the fine acting and ethnographic detail, the plot itself is rather mundane, which holds me back from giving this too high a rating.
CinemaSerf2023-08-27
★ 7/10
It's not so much the individual acting with this that stands out, it is the collective effort of all concerned to demonstrate to us just how perilous life can be on their Parisian suburban housing estate. Riots the evening before we arrive on the scene have left the area in a state of almost acute nervous exhaustion. The police are treading on egg shells and the community is a tinder box. To add to the volatility, a police officer lost his gun the night before and one of the locals "Vinz" (Vincent Cassel) has vowed to avenge himself on another officer should his currently hospitalised friend "Abdel" die. It transpires quite quickly that "Abdel" was severely injured as a result of an interrogation at a police station, and is now in a coma. You can just imagine the effect that has had on this otherwise mistrusting and suspicious community. Director Matthieu Kassovitz has created a monster here. It's poignant and angry, evocative and terrifying. As this fateful day turns to night and "Vinz" with his two friends "Said" (Saïd Taghmaoui) and aspiring boxer "Hubert" (Hubert Koundé) head downtown things take a turn for the worst with yet more tragic results. It is not an easy film to watch this, but it is compelling and as a sad indictment of urban living and (in)tolerance, it is very effective.
r96sk2024-09-17
★ 8/10
Very, very good movie! 'La Haine' is interesting slice of life viewing, I was intrigued across the whole 90 or so minutes as it tells its tale nicely. Some of the cinematography (b/w, smart choice) and editing is particularly impressive, while the ending is stark and unforgettable. The intentions of the film come across loud and clear. I didn't overly connect with the main trio, aside from Hubert. I could also sense that something was on the horizon (didn't see it going exactly that way, mind) from early on, so you kinda are just sitting there waiting for the penny to drop - but there's no doubting the film successfully keeps you on tenterhooks. The characters are a bit meh in terms of wanting to watch them, though the actors who play them are excellent - without question. Hubert Koundé is the one I'll likely remember most, even with still noteworthy performances from Vincent Cassel and Saïd Taghmaoui; two actors I have seen in a few English-language flicks down the years.