March 19, 2021

A perfect pairing of Sound & Vision - La Haine


Mathieu Kassovitz's French drama/thriller was like a kick in the face when it was released in 1995. Bubbling over with life and verve and anger, it was a world away from the cinema France had become famous for, films like Jean De Florette, Entre Nous, The Three Colours trilogy and The Big Blue. Films full of famous french actors like Gerard Depardieu, Juliette Binoche, Yves Montand and Isabelle Hubert. But the melting pot that was Paris was underserved, a city full of Black and Brown faces, rarely appearing onscreen and very rarely snagging a lead. Faces overlooked by everyone, except the police.

Abdel Ichacha has been hospitalised by the police in a banlieue near Paris and his friends are pissed off. There's been a riot and one of them, the perennially angry Vinz, has gotten hold of a cop's gun. His promise to himself; to use it on the gendarmes if his friend Abdel dies. In the meanwhile, Vinz, Said and Hubert, have nowhere to go and nothing to do, except haunt the courtyards of the housing project they all live on. And listen to the music soaring over their heads.


Magnificent. The sounds of KRS-One and Édith Piaf coming together. Paris meets New York City. A song about police brutality and a song that's literally about not giving a fuck anymore. The twin themes of the film in one. Add in that soaring camerawork, a comment about how music is one of the few ways these kids have to escape the ghetto, and you've got a pretty perfect pairing of sound & vision. Plus there's a cow. Cows make everything that little bit more special.

Previous pairings

Beetlejuice
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