Film Essay - Part A - Power, Poverty and Conflict

To find an international audience, films about local and particular problems need to use mainstream techniques such as those associated with Hollywood cinema

How far do you agree with this statement in relation to the films you have studied for this topic

The films I studied are City of God and La Haine. Both of these films support this statement in their own way.

La Haine is a Social-political film directed by Mathiew Kassovitz which portrays a challenging representation of France which goes against the romanticised version of France as seen in films such as Amelie. The on-going racial conflict in France is clearly shown in the film through the conflict between the three main characters Vinz, Saïd and Hubert and their conflict with French society. It is this on-going racial conflict in France which is the part of the film which can only be understood by a person who is from France or someone who has studied French history. Its lack of mainstream techniques means that it cannot gain large international audiences because they do not know the heart of the film or the core of what drives the characters, therefore it has no true meaning to outside audiences.

This is shown in the first scene of the film where found footage is used to show how those in the projects were treated in the 1993 Paris riots. It also introduces the films key themes. Mathieu Kassovitz uses many cinema techniques in order to manipulate his audience. This is shown in the opening sequence when we, as the audience, are positioned to see the police as antagonists who instigate the violence shown in the riot shots, and the protestors as protagonists who are driven to reactions by the violent acts of the police. This is done to give the audience an idea of whose side they should be taking (and will take) in this film before they have even seen it.

The sequence opens with a long P.O.V shot from behind a lone protestor who is facing what looks like an army of fully armed police in the distance. This shot is extremely effective as it gives us the idea that the protestors are the underdogs. It does this through many different cinema techniques. The first is the use of a single protestor. We cannot see behind us and so don’t know if there are any other protestors behind us, but the image itself gives us the impression that it is a single man standing against the full might of the state. The second technique used is the difference in attire of the police and the protestor. The protestor is wearing casual clothes; a hooded jacket, jeans, trainers and a t-shirt whereas the police are fully equipped in padded body armour and helmets. The police are also militarised with weapons including teargas, guns and batons, which greatly outmatches the protestor’s sticks and stones. The simple fact that we are on the opposite side to the police makes us feel like we are part of the protestor’s opposition to the police’s brutality. The quote which the protestor shouts to the police also solidifies their lack of power against them; “you’re murderers! You can shoot, we only have stones.” The use of the word ‘murderers’ also makes us turn against the police as we instantly take the protestors word because we feel that it is excessive to use bullets against tree branches and stones. The use of faceless police also turns us against them. This is because it makes them less human than the protestors, that they are mindless and lack morality. It makes is easier for us to accept the protestors violence towards them since we see them as oppressors to the people of the projects. The representations of the police and protestors as the ‘antagonists’ and ‘protagonists’ is false as we are being manipulated due to the many cinematic techniques. However those in the projects would have seen the police in this light, showing how history affects how they see people in this generation. These riots are very prominent in the French consciousness as the ripples caused by it are felt even today.

The next scene I will analyse is the rooftop scene. This scene shows the conflict between the projects and the police in a very effective way while reflecting the theme of power and conflict in the film. To begin with the different groups of the projects are separated to different parts of the rooftop, keeping to themselves and being harassed by Saïd. However as soon as the police appear to order them off the roof, all the groups band together behind Nordeen (Said’s little brother) to stand against the police. This shows that the police are the common enemy or threat and that everyone is aware of the prejudice and brutality that they face at the police’s hands. In this scene it is revealed that Hubert has a criminal past but is not proud of it as he knows that crime is not the answer. However, Vinz seems to think that going to jail will boost his status and give him an identity in the community and give him pride. The use of the police as a common threat is in keeping with the past of French society. All three of the main characters have reasons to be against the police force; Said, being Algerian, after the second world war the Algerians protested peacefully which resulted in conflicts such as the Setif Massacre, Vinz is Jewish and so would have heard the stories about how the Vichy government in the south sent 75,000 Jews to concentration camps resulting in only 2000 survivors and how anti-Semitism was sponsored by the French government at the beginning of the 20^th century. This will have caused bitterness to creep down the family lines and cause distrust and even hateful feelings towards the police. And of course Hubert will have suffered due to his ethnicity as black and therefore would be suffering due to it.

Their history in France is something which is necessary to know in order to sincerely understand their point of view in the film, without it one wouldn’t be able to fully empathise with them, possibly seeing them as simple youthful hooligans. 

The last scene I will analyse is the Art Gallery scene which tackles the French social class issue. Like many other things, class is dealt with differently in each different country. In France, as shown by this scene, is an extreme issue along with poverty and this is shown with how Vinz, Said and Hubert are treated in the art gallery. Because they live in the projects (the poor side of France) they are seen as outcasts by those st the upper/middle class event. They instantly become the centre of attention due to their differences in attire and how they act (e.g. their informal speech and lack of etiquette when discussing art). They are seen as ‘other’ and looked at with disgust because they would dare to invade the upper class affair. They end up being thrown out, clearly being judged because of who they are and where they come from. In real life, it is known that those who come from the projects are far less likely to be given a job or other opportunities.

Fernando Meirelles’ City of God (2002) supports this statement in a different way as its use of mainstream techniques means that it can be understood by almost all audiences. Whereas with La Haine you need to have some sort of prior knowledge about the actual state of the country and some of its history with minorities, anyone can watch City of God and understand it. This is shown through the cliché crime film genre, with the gangsters vs. the police with no real weight on the real backstory of the location or the country as a whole. The deepest the backstory goes into real life is how the development of the city was abandoned due to a military coup, but even this is through inference rather than exposition. This film contains a lot of iconography of the crime genre including guns, oppression, police, knives, gang violence and the setting being a city with run down estates, an urban environment.

One scene which shows this is the gunfight between the police and Lil Ze’s gang and the death of Lil Ze. This scene is simply used to create action and an aesthetically appealing fight while also showing the cycle of violence. This is one of the only things which comes through as a comment on the society at the time. The film starts with showing how Lil Ze was twisted into a criminal by role models and killing them, and then shows him twisting the youth into criminals before showing him being killed by them in return. However the scene makes no comment on the society or the backstory of the location like La Haine does. The film almost removes itself from the City of God, making it seem as though it could be any favela in Brazil, meaning that it is not specific to any society or location therefore anyone from around the world can connect to it and see it for entertainment rather than as a political message like La Haine.