FM4 - Urban Stories - 'A' Grade Exam Response: City of God/La Haine

'A' Grade Exam Response

Section A – Urban Stories: Power, Poverty and Conflict.

“Compare the different ways in which conflict between the poor and the powerful are represented in the films you have studied in this topic”

The difference in thematic stylistic and cinematic conventions regarding the films “City of God” and “La Haine” have attributes of representation roles of characters that contrast one another.

For instance, the role of “L’il Ze” in “City of God” represents the possession of having power in the world of crime within his favela, as we see slowly throughout that his dominance is enhanced by giving his framing more thought and his angle being higher than others. This character is high-up in the world of the poor, but in the world of the powerful he is miniscule – we see the effective contrast of setting being close as the favelas and topsy-turvy, unkempt position of the handmade houses demonstrated with a binary opposition of how close-by but out of reach, the rest of the richer, more industrial Brazil is. The film takes place over the space of a few decades, beginning with a yellowish, warm sepia editing that basks the open space of the poor settlers in the early 60s and darkening into a more dangerous tone in the 70s and 80s, giving off a feel of gloominess and expressing the theme of having no escape. Colder colours in mise-en-scene such as grey and blue are used in comparison to the earlier warmth. The palette of vivid colours displayed that range of extremities of cold and warm are perhaps the only embodiment of the true cultural Brazilian nature of a jungle type, natural world.

In “La Haine”, however, the film takes place over a space of 24 hours – a short tie frame as if to portray a small portrait of the culture at the time. Also with a use of black and white stock that convinces the audience of its grittiness, the themes of the French “liberty, equality and fraternity” are expressed to us with three main characters. A particularly strong character, Vinz, who represents “liberty”, is portrayed in a mirror at the beginning shot in a similar style to “Taxi Driver”, when De Niro’s character talks to himself in the mirror. The reference of this film, added to the similar “skinhead” look, gives the audience a sense of the French culture being less influential in this film than the western American conventions. This lack of French culture suggests an anonymity of the characters, presenting Vinz as a poor individual who is living in a society in which has no connotations of the language he speaks. Rap music is also incorporated within the beginning sequence as a strong suggestion of a focus on this being anywhere in the world, as if perhaps the emotions conveyed here are global and this swings the audience into the meaning behind the film. Rather than accepting “La Haine” as a French film, because it has little references its own culture, the audience must instead focus on the conflict the poor face against the privileged all around the world, reinforcing its effect dramatically.

More differences are the amount of characters to focus on. In “City of God”, a voiceover suggests a story-like anecdote behind each random character that the camera pans fluently, suggestive that the main issues with power in the favelas stem from the way they all live on top of one another within a vast population. In contrast, the focus on three main characters in “La Haine” gives the audience an expectancy of self-contained narratives of each one of them, and their struggle is that there are not enough of them to make a difference against the corrupt police. The camerawork is also focused on coming out of the back of each dominant role’s head as their side of the story is focused on, linking the audience to the character emotionally and framing them centrally within their surroundings.

Similarities arise in both films, however in the two urban stories we are met with the representation of the films meaning by a smaller embedded narrative. This is seen during the beginning sequence of “City of God” that has a hysterically panning camera tracking the chasing of a chicken about to be slaughtered. With the diegetic audio of evil laughter in the background and a hurried, terrified escape failing, it is with this sense of despair and frustration that the audience comes to understand the display of non-escapism in the film, and alludes to the characters being hit by a glass ceiling every time they try and break free of drugs and crime.

This small story is also posed similarly in “La Haine”, through the minor character of an old man relating how, when he was a prisoner of war, pride stopped a fellow man’s life from being saved as he was too embarrassed by the falling down of his trousers to jump onto the train. This, intensified by a mirror reflection of the three main characters silently listening, tempts the audience via framing to assume the story means more than is let on. This theme of pride preventing courage is central to the way the characters are represented in Paris, in a reverse dolly-shot that blurs them from being in lace with the city as they appear to be lost amongst a rich world but are too proud to try and be like these people, as their background also prevents this.

The films also have the themes of unsustainable romance, with failure to be in love and nurture a relationship seen in liaison of the poverty and upbringing of the social circles. “City of God” portrays women being raped, mistreated and marginalised, with the main character unable to keep his girlfriend due to drugs, and “La Haine” presents us with a scene in which the three characters attempt to flirt with women of higher class, resulting in shaky camera angles as they fail and lose their footing. Altogether the films provide the audience with a portrait of the conflicting barriers between the underclass and the rich that provoke emotional response.