Understanding the context of a film is always helpful, however in some films is vital to understand the context to gain the full meaning behind the film, and some it is not so important. La Haine is a film which can be seen as vial to understand the context. As soon as we begin watching the film we notice the two clear opposing forces, the police and civilians - which can be seen through the montage of rioting which we know has been shortened down from over 10 years. Prior to watching the film we are aware that the rioting was a pre-longed event therefore when we watch the film we are able to distinguish the fact that the director has crammed a montage sequence together which is not a direct representation of the actual riots in France.
The film La Haine, raises many questions upon french society, questions which we may not of ever questioned. Straight away through the use of black and white we get a sense of a non-conventional view of Paris, suggesting the romanticized view of Paris is far from true. The first notable issue the film raises is the mistreatment of non-french. In which we can say begins in the opening sequence, whereby the uniformed army of police seem to be instigating trouble against the seemingly peaceful civilians. The opening sequence also, showcases he faceless police, which implies the idea being that the police are simply a representation of the french state. The opening sequence effectively creates a realistic framework in which we view the police as antagonist, a view which challenges typical outlooks.
La Haine introduces the audience to a world which we are new to, a world which challenges our expectations, and we quickly realize that Said has a lack of understanding of the serious issues that are present around him, thus we see the world as he does. In the scene straight after the rioting sequence, we are introduced to Said. The distance between Said and the police indicates a division within the state, a division driven by race, and it is the point of view from Said which allows us to side with the non-french. Although Said has a lack of understanding of the issues around him, we get a sense of underlining hatred towards the police. This suggests non-french hatred for the police and the french state is something which is passed down through the generations. My contextual studies have informed me of Algeria's fight for independence and how France promised a better way of life for many moving immigrants, thus the hatred which Said has has most likely stemmed from grandparents who fought for their independence.
We are first introduced to the projects, whereby we meet the trio of non-french. Within the projects the are shot in almost a documentary way, which effectively reinforces the realism of the film, but also their comfortableness within their surroundings. Contrasting, we notice how uncomfortable the trio are when they are placed within the city (Paris), which is reinforced by the camera work of the director too - as the documentary feel is quickly evaporated. Without understanding the contextual issues, we could say the trio simply feel out of place, however through my studies, I know that it is the sheer segregation and racism of non-french which is the in fact why the trio are seemingly more uncomfortable. A scene in the projects highlights the police as instigators of trouble, as they tell all the non-french to get down from the rooftop, although they were not causing any trouble. Further into the film - the torture sequence - we see Hubert and Said tortured by the police. It is this sequence which raises huge questions upon the french police, and suggests that the police are being institutionalized how to torture, specifically those of non-french backgrounds. The contextual issues have gave me understanding into Kassovitz' (the director) motivation, in which has informed me of over 300 hundred deaths of non-french since 1982, further my contextual studies has highlighted specifically the death of a young black male, Makome M'bowele which was the direct inspiration for Kassovitz when making the film. I believe without understanding the contextual issues, the torture sequence would not have had such a profound impact, and I would have ultimately not took the preferred reading of the film which the director intended - to view the issues from the point of view of the demonized immigrants.
The us vs them mentality theme is one which can be seen through both the segregation of non-french but also the rejection of french culture. The train journey scene literally shows the distance between the projects and the city, and reinforces the segregation of non-french and french. Also, when the trio visit Paris, we see a Vertigo shot of the trio, which visually removes the trio away from the city in the background. Not only does this showcase the directors technical ability, but also highlights how non-french have been literally removed from Paris. La Haine definitely challenges us as an audience as well as challenging debate, in which is achieved through presenting an alternative view to what we are so frequently used to. We see a shot of Said click his fingers at the Eiffel tower, however the lights actually go out moments after this. This subtle shot again reinforces the segregation of non-french, but also the idea that there is a lot more hidden away about Paris, that it is not romanticized and the conventional look which we see in films such as Amelie, is actually not the real view of the city.
At the beginning of the film, Hubert says "so far so good, so far so good", this relates to how french society is in a free fall whereby the landing is only a matter of time, which effectively connotes the idea that the environment is inescapable and it is only a matter of time before they land to their death - before the cycle repeats itself. The film is shot over 24 hours, which firstly connotes realism, but also highlights the seriousness of on-going issues. The film uses a circular narrative, in which the films begins the day after the death of the a young innocent black male, which we are informed of through the opening news report of the film. The use of a circular narrative, which ends with Vinz' death, is one which generates debate and suggests that the issues are on-going in France.
The idea that the environment is inescapable is prominent throughout the film, such that even the structure of the walls in the project connote the feeling of a prison. Also, we notice how the immigrants are simply left to roam all day with absolutely nothing to do. The scene in which Hubert and Vinz listen to the child's story has greats significance, as we realize that the story doesn't actually have a punch line, however to the child it was extremely exciting news. Without any contextual knowledge of France, it could be argued that the immigrants have brought unemployment on themselves, however I know that there is actually around a 40% unemployment rate within the projects, contrasting to the 10% unemployment rate in the city. The quick white edit in the media scene has also been purposely placed; this edit suggests time has passed however we notice the trio are still sat almost identical, thus again reinforcing how the immigrants are simply left to themselves. The use of a the camera seemingly flying in the DJ sequence relates to the feeling of escapism, and how such a little form of entertainment is all they have to grip on to. Also, we notice the music is actually non-french, which suggests a rejection to french society, a rejection which is also reinforced through posters of american icons in Hubert's bedroom.
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