Opening sequence La Haine and City of God (realism)

How far should the films you have studied for this topic be seen in relation to their particular time and place.

In the opening scene to La Haine we are shown an immigrant shouting to police saying “you can shoot, we only have stones” this positions the rioters as the underdogs and also has the camera behind this man so it looks as if we are on the side of the rioters.  It then cuts to real riot footage from 1982-93 with the non-diegetic music of Bob Marley’s ‘Burnin and lootin’ that has lyrics that supports the rioters side. The film was made during the time of the riots and shows real footage that transition into the film footage to create more realism to the film.

The next cut shows a news report about Said’s brother being killed by the police during the riots. The police killed 300 plus people who look the same as Said which is where his hatred stems from. The film then opens with Said, this was important to open with him because it reflects his thought on the police and also links to historical events. The setif massacre was when the police killed the 300 plus immigrants that link to said’s character. This was very realistic of the time as a lot of Algerian French immigrants were fearful of the police and have hatred for them since the massacre.

In the opening to city of god it is a little different. The opening montage of the knife being sharpened implies that the film will take place in a dangerous environment. The chicken running away symbolises people that live in the favelas – it is inevitable that it will get caught, “if you run they get you, if you stay they get you” shows this enclosed environment to have no hope of escaping.

When the gangsters are running down the street chasing the chicken they run with guns and shoot at it. People around the favelas don’t react to this as if it is a regular occurrence and this is a part of life. The gangsters also seem to be in charge. They run down the streets with guns with not a care in the world. This is also shown when the police turn up and lil ze tells the other gangsters not to run. They do not fear the police so the society must be dangerous and they challenge authority.

·       Exaggerated and stylised

·       On location for realism