La Haine: Micro-elements Within A Sequence From The Film

How do the elements of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound, and the structure of the narrative, create meaning and generate audience response in your sequence? My sequence is of the three main protagonists of the film and another boy sitting in one of the numerous parks of Paris. My sequence is located about 25 minutes into the film; fairly early on in the narrative. The scene shows a glimpse of the boys’ life in Paris. The boys clearly do not care too much about education as they always seem to be on the streets and this is shown in particular in this sequence where the boys are bored and doing nothing. The sequence doesn’t provide anything drastically new to the narrative but it adds more depth to the characters as their opinions are presented. I shall be exploring the use of micro features and their meanings in this sequence.

The first shot of the sequence is of the four boys sitting down on concrete bollards in the park. The boys are in the foreground, and behind, the city is shown. The large building is dominating the background of the shot (screenshot above) could represent life in the City of Paris. It is clear from the look of the building that it is not a very expensive or luxurious housing block. When a car pulls up in the distance and blows its horn, the youngest of the boys exclaims: “This looks like trouble” and quickly departs. This action proves the anxiety and apprehension that the people of Paris feel even at the small possibilities of danger. This circumspection is no doubt born from the amount of crime and wrong-doings that occurred frequently at the time. A problem addressed a lot in the film is racism. This is shown particularly when Said goes over to meet the car which pulled up whereas Hubert, who is of African ethnicity, stays behind. He seems nervous when Said returns, ringing his hands and avoiding eye contact. Throughout the

film, many references are made by and towards Hubert simply because of the colour of his skin. The long shot of Said running away and towards Hubert shows this divide. Although it is fair to say that the three boys are friends, the message of racism and the divide of people with different coloured skin are evident. A low angle shot of Hubert’s feet fiddling with a syringe is shown. This single shot shows the brutality and danger that lies within Paris in the troubled times of the riots and the fact that potentially young boys are playing in a park where used drug syringes are lying around could be horrifying for the audience. The shot cuts to Hubert’s face where behind him some graffiti baring the message “We are the future” can be seen. This is particularly poignant, especially taking into consideration the previous shot of the syringe on the floor. The strong message written on the wall, juxtaposed with the previous shot of the syringe immediately shows the audience what the possible future could be. The final shot of the sequence shows the boys sitting on the concrete bollards again, a full circle. The shot shows the three boys sitting in a line. None of them seem to be engaged in any particularly interesting conversation as they are not looking at each other; they’re just talking.