Sophie Cull Film & Photography

Explore how stylistic choices contribute to the representation of the urban experience in the films you have studied for this topic [35]

In the film La haine, directed by Matthieu Kassovitz, the reporter wants to interview Vinz, Hubert and Saïd but ends up annoying them so they get angry. The group is filmed from a high angle and the news crew are on a higher ground behind a fence; the way the characters are positioned makes it look like they are animals and shows how they're seen as a lower class. This is shows how the characters are living to survive like a pack of animals and not really thriving.

Another example are the gunshots or gunshot sound effects also break up scenes when the group is in the urban environment. It's non-diegetic and usually made by Vinz hitting something or mimicking a gun movement. Its almost like the violence is what makes the world around him continue; he triggers the next scene both metaphorically and physically like a gun trigger. This shows how violent their surroundings are, how a gun is almost like the only way to be able to continue.

In another scene, Vinz (Vincent Cassel) walks into a cinema and watches multiple variations of violent films (action, slasher/horror and gangsta) but continues to be bored and even leaves one to watch another; he is completely unfazed by it all. He acts this way because he is surrounded by violence and destruction constantly, whether it be physically or visually on screens that seem to be around him consistently. This suggests that the urban population is struggling and can't escape the violence.