La Haine Review

La Haine is a 1995 arthouse film which follows the lives of Vinz, Hubert and Said over the span of a day in the suburbs of Paris. The film is named La Haine (Hate in French) because of the hateful relationship within the youth and the authority (police), and this theme is constantly explored throughout the film as the film aims to raise awareness on the issue of racism and police brutality in France.

The mise-en-scene of this film is vital in creating the gritty atmosphere of the film. For example through the use of good location an urban, ghetto suburb can be presented  to the audience (as shown through several shots such as the rooftop scene, the urban park, destructed gym) which adds onto the representation of a poverty stricken suburb. The clothing that the characters wear i.e. hoodies/leather jackets, baggy clothing links to this gang ideology that is assumed to run through the ghetto suburbs, this can be linked back to the issue of police brutality and how youngsters have been attacked by the police because of this.

The cinematography and the editing of the film is important in making La Haine an iconic arthouse film. The use of black and white cinematography gives the film an old look, as if the film is looking back into the past, however this also emphases its sense of realism. The films sense of realism is also enhanced through the technique of suturing at the beginning of the film as real news footage is shown at the start of the film, this immediately suggests that this film is based around an issue. I have also noticed with the cinematography that the camera movement is quite smooth which suggests that a lot of steadicam has been used. A lot of long shots have been used in place of the usual medium shots which allows the audience to see from a wider perspective on the action that is taking place.