How far can it be argued that your chosen films provide a 'realistic' representation of the people and places they focus on

How far can it be argued that your chosen films provide a 'realistic' representation of the people and places they focus on.

By Michael O'Neill

The films I will be discussing are La Haine and City of God, I believe both of these films offer a realistic representation of the people and places in which they are set, how far can be deemed by analysing key scenes accompanied with own judgement.

The first scene I will be analysing is the scene which I believe offers the best expose of the mistreatment of the lower class in Paris, I am talking of course about the “Media Scene”. The scene begins with the three main characters sitting in a park, a quick flash of light is then seen to show the passage of time. This was used to show the audience that the characters have little to nothing to do in the projects. The shot then changes to show a car pulling in, the car is full of members of the press whom are venturing on an “urban safari” in order to get their scoop. Seeing this Vinz quickly gets to his feet and reminds the news crew that he is not an animal, however the news reporter seems uninterested as she ignores him and continuously asks about the recent attacks within the projects.

The director used clever camera techniques to clearly show the divide amongst classes within the projects, the news crew are all shot in high angle shots to show the audience that the citizens of Paris look down on those who live in the surrounding areas: they are even branded non-french due to the riots that occurred in the past.

The next scene I will be discussing is the scene where our three main characters are in a modern art gallery, I chose this scene because it truly shows the divide against the citizens in the projects and the citizens in the city. When they first enter the characters are shot looking at what appears to be a bear hanging on a white wall, they then go on to ask how it is considered art and if the artist is famous. This is followed by the comment “he will be when he's 18”: this comment was added to the final script because it generates a moment of comedy and shows how the three boys do not fit in at the art gallery (this is because whilst they are chatting amongst themselves and trying to be subtle they are still drawing attention because everyone else is strictly quiet), to add emphasis that the characters feel out of place the director chooses to have waiters offering champagne and canapés, this in itself makes the characters feel awkward because they are not used to silver service and can not understand how it can be justified that these people are being offered an array of rich foods (that will probably go to waste) when they and their families are forced to rely on controversial methods such as crime to have any chance of being fed.

The art gallery consists of a variety of people, however the majority of the visitors are white. Other than Said and Hubert the only other “minority” in the building would be the unnamed black female who is with her unnamed white female friend. The fact that the black female is not judged like the boys is because chances are her ancestors joined the side of the French and not the Algerians during the riots. The director does something interesting with the sequence because at first glance the audience may believe that the girls have been cast to act as “eye candy” for the boys and that the girls may fall under the stereotype that girls like “bad boys”. However the director destroys all expectations and uses these new characters as another way to segregate the boys and expand the divide this is done in the following ways: Hubert approaches the girl appearing confident and able to speak to anyone, he plays the “wingman” for his friend as he tries to generate an attraction between the two. However throughout the two girls seem uninterested. The scene offers a great expose into French bigotry and how even though most people in the art gallery will have little to no insight into the true “meanings” of each painting/art piece they still brand the trio as the stupid ones.

The next scene I am choosing to write about will be the scene when the characters first arrive in Paris, this is significant because it is another scene that reinforces what I have mentioned before and it exposes France for what it is: racist, fascist and discriminatory and destroys the common misconception that France is a city of equality and love (this is the belief that the French film industry often portrays in a variety of films often romantic). The characters are first shot outside an apartment block looking for the infamous “Asterix” (this is used to show that Paris has a much diverse media whilst the three main characters have probably never heard of “Asterix” the cartoon character), they begin to ring numerous doorbells seeking the mysterious person and have no luck and only receive ridicule. The boys are clearly getting frustrated and begin to create a scene before quickly exiting the building only to be interrupted by the police demanding identification (this is because they are clearly judging the boys), the scene then continues in a police station where an obvious abuse of power is taking place (this is a direct reflection of what was going on during the riots in Paris against the French and the Algerians).

I will now discuss my second film: City of God. This film is alike La Haine in the sense that it focuses on crime and offers an expose on poverty and discrimination.

One of the key themes which the film effectively portrayed was the crimes and the constant battle between gangs and the police.

The scene that best represents the real life crime underworld of the Brazilian favela's would be the scene when Rocket's narration explains how Lil Ze became the powerful drug baron. The scene is an endless montage taking place within an apartment, to reinforce the belief that the people of the favela's accept crime and that it doesn't pay the audience are shown a series of deaths in which a new thug becomes the new lord.

Both of these films use a narrative circle to drive their story: La Haine begins with a murder and ends with a murder that is open to audience intention (it is unknown which character loses their life). City of God also follows this narrative by beginning with a death and ending with a death, this technique acts as a reminder to the audience that crime is a never ending cycle in which there are no winners only losers.

Out of my two chosen films, the film which I believe offers the most realistic representation of the people and place would be La Haine, this is because of its naturalistic style because of this it is more likely for members of the audience to relate to their stories and the events which are happening on screen. City of God on the other hand can be considered quite exaggerated due to its structure and the themes that it tackles can be harder to relate to.

This being said I still believe that both of these films provide excellent representations of their location and of the people whom the characters are based on.