French cult film ‘La Haine’ returns as a hip-hop musical

Watching “La Haine” (“Hate”) nearly 30 years ago, there was a sense of something inexorable about the violence in the French suburbs.

French director Mathieu Kassovitz’s critically acclaimed black-and-white film opens with news video footage of urban unrest. It follows three friends, Hubert, Vinz and Saïd, over the course of 24 hours in a world of police brutality. It ends with the murder of one of the young men at the hands of an officer.

A confrontation ensues, followed by a voice-over: “This is a society in free fall.” A shot is heard, leaving little doubt about the dramatic outcome, with more bloodshed.

The film served as an eye-opener about the grim reality of life in what the French call the “banlieue” — poor suburbs dotted with social housing projects — and swept the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. Kassovitz won the best director award, and “La Haine” achieved cult status in France and around the world.

Mathieu Kassovitz speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in Tremblay-en-France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.

(Christophe Ena/AP)

Nearly three decades later, it is still hailed as the landmark film about poor urban communities in crisis. Kassovitz and theatre director Serge Denoncourt are giving it a new lease on life, turning it into a musical theatre piece that opens in October.

The title is the same: “La Haine”, but it adds a subtitle: “Until now, nothing has changed.”

“Two days after we announced the play (last year), we were so excited,” Kassovitz said. “We were so happy to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to officially announce it and it’s going to be a beautiful show and it’s going to be a beautiful party and everything.’ Two days later, we saw the video of Nahel, you know, the kid who was shot by the police.”

Kassovitz was referring to Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old deliveryman who was shot dead by a police officer in June 2023, sparking nationwide riots and sparking anger over police violence, poverty and discrimination against people with immigrant backgrounds. Merzouk was of Maghrebi origin.

“Yes, we know why we are doing this,” Kassovitz said. “It is for him. It is for all the victims who suffered this kind of violence after so many years.”

Actors during a rehearsal of the musical show La Haine, in Tremblay, France, Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

(Christophe Ena/AP)

Love is all you need

Despite filming “La Haine” in black and white, Kassovitz tries to avoid drawing overly simplistic conclusions about the roots of violence.

“We’re trying to address the questions that the movie raised,” he said. “We can’t point fingers all the time. Maybe now is the time to have solutions. And we think the solution is love. So that’s what the musical is. It’s how to stop hating and start loving.”

To find the trio of actors who would carry this message of love through the musical, Kassovitz and his team traveled all over France for months. The director believes that Aliyou Diop, Samy Belkessa and Alexander Ferrario were the right choices to recreate the chemistry of the film.

Despite all its darkness, the film also had positive scenes. It is filled with funny jokes and pranks that reinforce the bond and love between the three main protagonists as they venture into the heart of Paris.

“There is also a lot of love in the neighbourhood,” said Diop, who comes from a working-class neighbourhood in the port city of Le Havre. “Otherwise we would all be shooting at each other. In the film you see three friends who live in a difficult context, and you forget about the context while watching the film. They make us forget about it. That’s why I like them so much. They laugh, they laugh at their misery.”

Mathieu Kassovitz in Tremblay-en-France, on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

(Christophe Ena/AP)

When Kassovitz made his film, French suburban culture was still largely underground. The local rap music scene had already emerged, but local mainstream media tended to portray young people from social housing projects in an unflattering and largely fear-based light.

Kassovitz said he was pleased that some of the stereotypes had been broken and that young people from the suburbs now had the chance to reach the top of the charts, like Franco-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, who sang at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

For Kassovitz, the difference between the film and the musical is that there is no need to warn people that these are children from these kinds of poor communities. “Thirty years ago, nobody knew about them, so we had to make a film to introduce them to French culture,” he said.

Actors during a rehearsal of the musical show La Haine, in Tremblay, France, Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

(Christophe Ena/AP)

Diop, who plays Hubert in the musical and is also a rap artist, impressed casting supervisors with his stage presence – an essential asset in a musical show that combines dance, film, rap, theatre and live performance, which Denoncourt hopes will be groundbreaking.

“We’re trying to put things together in an artistic way, but not too, too cute. We like the raw material that we have with breakdance, with rap,” he said. “The show is pretty raw.”