LA HAINE aka HATE

Year: 1995
UK: Optimum Releasing
Cast: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kounde, Said Taghmaoui, Karim Belkhadra, Edouard Montoute, Francois Levantal, Solo Dicko, Marc Duret, Heloïse Rauth, Rywka Wajsbrot, Tadek Lokcinski, Choukri Gabteni, Nabil Ben Mhamed, Felicite Wouassi, Fatou Thioune, Zinedine Soualem, Bernie Bonvoisin, Cyril Ancelin, Karine Viard, Julie Mauduech, Abdel Ahmed Ghili, Joseph Momo, Olga Abrego, Laurent Labasse, Benoît Magimel, Medard Niang, Arash Mansour, Abdel-Moulah Boujdouni, Mathilde Vitry, Christian Moro, Thang-Long, Cut Killer, Sabrina Houicha, Sandor Weitmann, Peter Kassovitz, Vincent Lindon, Christophe Rossignon, Mathieu Kassovitz, Anthony Souter, Florent Lavandeira, Teddy Marques, Samir Khelif, Virginia Montel, Andree Damant, Marcel Marondo, Eric Pujol, Philippe Nahon, Sebastien Tavel, François Toumarkine, Jose-Philippe Dalmat, Patrick Medioni
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Country: France
Language: French (English subtitles)
UK: 95 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language, violence and drug use
UK Release Date: 20 August 2004 (Re-release)

Synopsis

An ordinary public housing project with no more problems than most wakes up one morning in a state of siege.

The kids from the "Bluebell" projects have spent all night warring with police.

Why? Because a 16 year-old boy, Abdel Ichah, is at death's door after being neaten up under questioning by a police officer.

One more case of police brutality, one more riot.

Among these kids blinded by HATE for the system are three homeboys: Hubert, Said and Vinz. Together they are about to live the most important days of their lives.

Because today there aren't just three of them, there are four.

There's Said, struggling to get by on nickel-and-dime dope deals that keep turning sour.
There's Hubert, convinced that keeping the peace is the only way for the community to survive.
There's Vinz, who thinks the only key to survival is HATE.
And there's the fourth hero of our story: the gleaming, chrome-plated Smith & Weston 44 which a plainclothes policeman is reported to have lost somewhere on the projects during the rioting.

Twenty-four hours in the life of the projects and the kids who live there.
Twenty-four hours to find a solution to the HATE that keeps both sides at each other's throats.
Because if killing a cop with his own gun isn't the answer...
Then what is?