

“How far you fall doesn't matter, it's how you land…”
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.
Director
Screenplay
Status
Released
Original Language
FR
Budget
$2,600,000
Revenue
$15,300,000

Outwardly a chilling portrait of the aimless lives of unemployed inner city youths living on society's fringe, the underlying message of this volatile drama seems to call for violence to rectify social injustices. The film centers on two teenaged gangs who basically terrorize their neighborhoods with their anarchic behavior. There are few limits to their unpleasant philosophy of "desire equals acquisition." The loosely structured tale reaches its climax at a concert where the two rival groups collide.

Santo
La Haine Q&A with director Mathieu Kassovitz
Featurette
Stéphane has recently joined the Anti-Crime Squad in Montfermeil, in the suburbs of Paris, France, where Victor Hugo set his famed novel “Les Miserables”. Alongside his new colleagues Chris and Gwada – both experienced members of the team – he quickly discovers tensions running high between local gangs. When the trio finds themselves overrun during the course of an arrest, a drone captures the encounter, threatening to expose the reality of everyday life.