La Haine

I also wanted to take the film out of the studio, because I was influenced by the French New Wave, by films like 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' [Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, 1964]. That film shot on location, used natural light, and had a great sense of visual truth. I wanted to apply that aesthetic to Les Mis.

We grew up on all these French movies like La Haine and Mesrine and movies like that. We love those movies, so we tried to bring that kind of visual aesthetic into this big Hollywood blockbuster.