Stylistic choices - La Haine

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 film you have studied for this topic?

One of the stylistic choices made by the filmmaker, Matthew Kassavits, was to separate the film into two different parts. The first part is in the projects while the second part is in the Paris City Centre. These two parts are separated by the train journey the trio make. This shows that the "non-french" people from the projects are separate from the "French" people in the city. They are separated by distance because Vinz, Said and Huber have to get a train there, which takes about 40 minutes. They are also culturally separate as they are put outside the city and projects being that far away from the city was a conscious decision.

This train scene is also the scene were Hubert comes to terms with everything. Just before getting on the train, Hubert punches a policeman. Hubert realises what he has done. The train also goes past a billboard which catches Hubert's attention, it says "The world is yours" but Hubert comes to terms with the fact that it isn't. He sees that the world is theirs (The French people from the city) and not his own or other peoples from the projects and he can't change that. After this, Hubert is now one step closer to snapping.