La Haine (15)

★★★★★ Mathieu Kassovitz’s celebrated story of inequality in a Paris banlieue is an effervescent classic which radiates with rage and comedy. ~ The Guardian.

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Mathieu Kassovitz's provocative, compelling and landmark drama - restored in 4K - returns to selected UK cinemas to mark the film's 30th anniversary.

Turning the camera away from iconic Paris to the concrete banlieue, Mathieu Kassovitz’s second feature as a director changed the cultural landscape of French cinema when it landed at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995, winning the Best Director prize.

The film takes place over 24 hours following the police shooting of a young man from a deprived housing estate and shows the world through the eyes of three friends – one North African, one Jewish and one Black - who are frustrated with politicians, the media and police brutality.

Black-and-white visuals, a thumping hip-hop soundtrack and graffiti-daubed streets underscore the urgency and rebellion at the heart of this game-changing classic.

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★★★★★ It's been labelled French cinema's answer to Boyz N The Hood, but La Haine (Hate) has a flavour all of its own. Writer-director Kassovitz butts European urbanity up against American street style as kids clash with cops in suburban Paris. The result is an explosion of scathing social commentary and dynamic storytelling. ~ BBC.

This socially conscious crime drama was hailed as groundbreaking – and considered highly controversial – when it premiered in 1995. Its raw and righteous exploration of class conflict, racial discrimination and police brutality remains gut-churningly relevant today. ~ NME.

★★★★★ Stark, exquisite black-and-white photography drains what little cheer there is out of the concrete jungle, creating an alien cityscape devoid of sunshine. But Mathieu Kassovitz's triumph is in finding humanity in every single one of his characters. ~ Empire.

★★★★★ For anyone grown weary of French cinema's bourgeois sheen, La Haine is a wonderful wake-up call. See it. ~ The Times.

★★★★★ The politics of the piece are confrontational, to say the least, but there is a maturity and depth to the characterisation which goes beyond mere agitprop: society may be on the point of self-combustion, but this film betrays no appetite for the explosion. A vital, scalding piece of work. ~ Time Out.

★★★★★ It remains as provocative as a petrol bomb. ~ Total Film.

★★★★ ~ Radio Times.