La Haine (1995): dir. Mathieu Kassovitz-France

Starkly shot in black and white to show a Paris not on any map, the film deals with Frances intolerance towards outsiders. After local youth Adel is beaten unconscious by police, a riot ensues on his estate during which a policeman loses his gun. La Haine follows vinz, Hubert and said, three young men trapped in the Parisian economic, ethnic and social underclass.

Watching the film, what really stood out to me was the way the film shot-
-Being wholly in black and white
-The way the characters were introduced
-The way segments and time was split (using subheadings)
-The fluidity of the film is almost seamless
-Individual scenes of the characters

The film shows power, poverty and conflict within the estate of Paris:

-Power:
-The police have more power
-The gun gives vinz power.
-Being with each other gives them power and resistance: On the rooftop against the police, in the art gallery against the rich guy, against the skinheads.
– The drugs give them a level of power
– Saids brother has a lot of power.

-Conflict:
-Between the police
-Between one another and their conflicting ideals- Vinz: Depravity, Said: Innocence, Hurberg: The morality – There is conflict between those in the upper class and the lower class -Gender conflict as well (The sister, The grandma, the other sister, the women in the art gallery) -Shows the hostility that ferments in the estate

-Poverty:
They can’t afford things like schoolbooks, food, and running a gym -Rely on
drugs to get money
-Contrasted in the art gallery
-We see the rich apartment that reflects the wealthy part in Paris
– Those of ethnic minority are living in the poorest sections, like in The City of God they are pushed to the outskirts in order to keep the image of wealth

Comparing it to The City of God and Ameros Perros there a similarities and differences:
-Ameros Perros: They both show aspects of three stories and lives.
– All Location filming
– All set in big cities with huge deprivation
-The pace between them is different
-Youth culture is all of them
-Different narrative structures
-The names of the films are ironic to the narrative
-All films use hand held and filters
– Ameros Perros and La Haines an enigmatic ending, introduces characters through some text
-Linear narrative but set in one day whereas the others are set over a period of time
-Both set in Latin America

-In AP and LH there are aspects where females are treated as secondary class citizen
-The city of God: Doesn’t show the glamorized perspective of the country.
-In all three films police are presented negatively
– Only La Haine shows racism.

Messages and Values:
Guns and Weapons can provide you with power but only to an extent- they can rid you of it as well… Transgressing boundaries/ and laws will lead to your downfall Differences in class
Crime is often the result of boredom and frustration in the youth Crisis of masculinity
Corruption within the police and society
Gang rivalry- Racism
Youth unemployment
Lack of education and an abundance of ignorance
Identity/ Confliction identity
Cycle of authorities power