exam practice answer

The stylistic choices made by filmmakers define not just the look but also the meaning of the film ‘how far is this true of the films you have studied for this topic’?

This phrase is true for both of the films that I have studied, La Haine and City of God. For both of the films it is obvious that there has been a lot of influence from the filmmakers to have the films in a stylized way, especially for the French film La Haine. La Haine is stylized so that it portrays the grim underworld of Paris, known around the world as the ‘City of Love’. Matthew Kassovitz  (Director, La Haine) purposely chose for the film to be seen in black and white, this choice was not just for effect but it allows for the audience to understand how the three main characters view their ‘home’, the projects, a depressing bland prison that the characters cannot escape from no matter how much they try. The director may also be using the black/white effect to underline the fact that the French government only views people as either a white French citizen, or a foreign with different skin colour or religion.

The opposite effect has been used for my second film, City of God, which is also very much stylized. City of God uses a very bright and beautiful colour palette that clashes with the setting of the film, the dangerous slums of Rio, known as Favelas. The colour palette for the film realistically reflects the colour of the favelas as they are bright and colourful but unlike La Haine it fails to reflect the atmosphere of the Favelas and how dangerous and poverty stricken they are. The Director may have chosen to use this colour palette to emphasise the fact that the beautiful renowned city of Rio sits at the doorstep of such a criminal underworld. 

The projects in the city of Paris is seen by many from the outside as alien and dangerous, unfortunately society sees people from the projects in the same way. for this reason many of the people