French cult film 'La Haine' is back as a new musical envisaged by its director Matthieu Kassovitz, three decades after its original release.
The show, in French language, is set to land in Brussels on Friday 23 May 2025 and Saturday 24 May 2025 at the Forest National, under a new title: 'La Haine: Nothing has changed'.
On 31 May 1995, Matthieu Kassovitz cult film brought life in the Parisian suburbs to the big screen, starring 3 actors (Vinz, Said and Hubert) who were still largely unknown.
The film quickly became a classic of French cinema, triumphing at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival with 3 awards, as well as winning Best Film at the Césars. It won widespread acclaim internationally too, gaining the admiration of the likes of Steven Spielberg, who said he "adored" the film.
The film’s legendary soundtrack and references to hip hop culture have made it a staple in the Francophone rap world – despite the film itself not having much music in it. It has also been culturally referenced by the likes of Nas, Rosalia and ASAP Rocky.
The famous lines from the film: "Jusqu'ici tout va bien" (so far, so good) have been immortalised across popular culture.
'Nothing has changed'
In 2024, Kassovitz brings back his cult classic with as a lively, immersive new creation. The director revisits the story of his cult film by adapting it for the stage to underline the eminently contemporary nature of the film.
The new musical will be a project rooted in current events, taking the audience on a virtual ride through Paris and its suburbs, combining both the stage and the screen.
During the show, 14 scenes inspired by the film (redesigned by original director Mathieu Kassovitz) will be shown on a projection system, coupled with the sets and above all with the performances of the actors on stage.
The show combines dance, film, rap, theatre and live performance in an augmented form that is resolutely modern and unique, supported by an original soundtrack that also bridges the gap between the 1990s and today.
La Haine: Nothing has changed (the musical). Credit: Yaman Okur (all rights reserved)
Actor Samy Belkessa plays Said, rapper and actor Alivor plays Hubert and Alexander Ferrario plays Vinz. Like in the original, all three characters represent France's largest ethnic minorities (black, Jewish and Muslim) as they deal with socio-economic hardship, racism but also boredom.
In mid-2019, Kassovitz was in talks with show producer Farid Benlagha Le Hazif, truck by the resemblance between the present day and the time when the film came out.
Also partly driven by a desire to pay tribute to the success of French rap over the last 30 years, the duo began to think about an ambitious project to give a second life to the film La Haine, but in a "total" artistic form – mixing theatre, music, dance, cinema and even new technologies.
Kassovitz wanted to retell 'La Haine' once again through the same the story of three young men from the Paris suburbs who see their lives turned upside down over the course of one night.
The new musical is not only for those who grew up with the film, but also for all the new generations, ready to (re)discover this seminal tale of French society.
