The famous French film “La Haine” returns in the form of a hip-hop musical comedy against a backdrop of persistent tensions in the less affluent suburbs.
Watching “La Haine” nearly 30 years ago, one had the feeling that the violence in the French suburbs was inexorable.
French director Mathieu Kassovitz’s critically acclaimed black-and-white film opens with newsreel footage of urban riots. The film then follows three friends—Hubert, Vinz, and Said—for 24 hours in a world of police brutality. It ends with one of the young men being murdered by a police officer.
A confrontation ensues, followed by a voiceover: “This is a society in free fall.” A gunshot rings out, leaving little doubt as to the dramatic outcome, with more bloodshed.
The film served as a revelation of the grim reality of life in what the French call the “banlieue” – the deprived suburbs with council housing – and took the 1995 Cannes Film Festival by storm. Kassovitz won the award for best director and “La Haine” became a cult film in France and around the world.
Nearly thirty years later, it is still considered the reference film on the social housing crisis. Kassovitz and director Serge Denoncourt are giving it a new life by transforming it into a musical comedy that will open in October.
The title remains the same, “La Haine”, but it is enriched with a subtitle: “Until now, nothing has changed: “Until now, nothing has changed.
“Two days after we announced the show (last year), we were very excited,” Kassovitz said. “We were very happy to say, ‘OK, we’re going to announce it officially and it’s going to be a great show, a great party and everything.’ Two days later, we saw the video of Nahel, you know, the kid who got shot by police.”
Mr. Kassovitz was referring to Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old delivery driver who was shot and killed by a police officer in June 2023, sparking nationwide riots and anger over police brutality, poverty and discrimination against people with immigrant backgrounds. Merzouk was of North African descent.
“Yes, we know why we’re doing this,” Kassovitz said. “It’s for him. It’s for all the victims who have suffered this type of violence for so many years.”
Although he shot “La Haine” in black and white, Kassovitz tries to avoid overly simplistic conclusions about the roots of violence.
“We’re trying to solve the questions that the movie raised,” he said. “We can’t always point fingers. Maybe it’s time to find solutions. And we think the solution is love. So that’s what this show is about. It’s about stopping hating and starting loving.”
To find the trio of actors who would carry this message of love in the musical, Kassovitz and his team traveled around France for months. The director believes that Aliyou Diop, Samy Belkessa and Alexander Ferrario are the best choices to recreate the film’s alchemy.
Despite all its darkness, the film already contains a dose of good humor. It is filled with dozens of funny lines and jokes that only strengthen the bond and love between the three main protagonists who venture into the heart of Paris.
“There’s also a lot of love in the neighborhood,” says Diop, who comes from a working-class neighborhood in the port city of Le Havre. “Otherwise, we’d all shoot each other. In the film, we see three friends who live in a complicated context, and we forget the context while watching the film. They manage to make us forget it. That’s why I love them so much. They laugh, they laugh at their misery.”
When Kassovitz made his film, the culture of the French suburbs was still largely marginal. The local rap music scene had already emerged, but the local mainstream media tended to portray the youth of the projects in an unflattering and largely fear-based light.
Mr Kassovitz is pleased that some stereotypes have been broken and that young people from the suburbs now have the opportunity to rise to the top of the charts, like French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, who sang at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
For Kassovitz, the difference between the film and the show is that there is no need to warn people that these are young people from the projects. “Thirty years ago, no one knew them, so we had to make a film to introduce them to French culture,” he said.
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