Exam Question - La Haine

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques? [35 marks]

When we think of France, we think of romance, wine, the Eiffel tower and escargot. However, the film 'La Haine' shows the underbelly of France. Directed by Matthieu Kassovitz, it is set in the 1990's, during the regular riots between youths and police.

One of the techniques used in the film to create impact on the viewer is the way the director puts distance in between the characters. The opening scene shows this very well, as Saïd faces a line of police. By putting distance between the characters the director shows conflict between them. This technique reflects the riots at the time as this type of conflict was very common, and police often had to deal with youths causing damage. This technique is also evident on the rooftop, when the police try to evict the men from the roof. The camera is positioned as a mid-shot, with each force on either side of the shot. It is made obvious to me at the beginning of the film that the police are the 'bad guys' in La Haine. 

Another distinctive technique the director uses in La Haine to impact the viewer is the inclusion of American culture in his film. In the film there are references to western culture, and it is one of the main themes throughout the film. 

In this tracking shot the camera shows the mise-en-scene of the men having a morning BBQ on the roof. This reflects western culture because the clothes that the men wear and the way they act imply a 'hood' relationship between them all. Groups like this were common in films by American director Spike Lee, such as Do The Right Thing. This scene is an accurate representation of France during the riots. Youths would form gangs and attack police in groups such as the one portrayed in the film. This type of group activity can be linked to the theme of poverty in the film, as the men have no jobs. This theme is solidified when Saïd does not have enough money to buy a hotdog.
The gang culture is also shown further on in the film when the gang is in their 'headquarters' in a building. There are some black men breakdancing to hip-hop music, which emphasises the western culture of the film, as hip-hop music originated in America in the 90's. 

The theme of power is also represented in the film, mainly by Vinz. Vinz's idea of power arises when he is holding a gun. In this scene Vinz pulls out his gun on a police officer. Through his facial expression I can tell that he is debating whether to shoot the officer or not. Luckily Hubert stops him before he has time to think. This situation happens again, near the end of the film. Vinz is about to shoot a 'skinhead', but Hubert uses reverse psychology to stop him from doing so, as he knows Vinz won't do it. The moment is ironic, as we learn previously that Hubert is uneducated, and cannot read. This also shows that Hubert has power - power over Vinz, intelligence-wise. 
These scenes reflect the social issues in France at the time by implying that the police have no power over the youths, and that they struggled to control them.

During the film the director asks questions, but chooses to leave them unanswered. If noticed, this can create a large effect on the viewer. it will leave them wondering why these events happened. An example of this is when Saïd and Vinz enter Hubert's destroyed gym. Saïd poses the question: 'How did they get the car in? The doors aren't wide enough.' His question is never answered. This subtle element is a key part of the film, as it reflects the film as a whole. The entire film can be seen as a question, but with no answer. The question being the solution to stop all the issues seen in the film; racism, gang culture, violence etc. But when the film comes to an end, the viewer will realise that no solution has been found.
The film actually ends with Hubert and a police officer at gunpoint and we see Saïd close his eyes as a gunshot sounds.

Annotated Catalogue

Title/Question:

In Ridley Scott’s films, females are often portrayed as strong, powerful characters. Does this make him an auteur?

Catalogue:
3x Films

2x Books

1x Magazine

7x Websites

1x Image

2x Interviews

4x Rejected Items

FILMS:

Item 1: Prometheus (2012)

I chose Prometheus because the film clearly displays the theme I am looking at. The female character in this film is also the main character, and she is incredibly driven to achieve her goal of finding the ‘Engineers’. Her male counterparts in the film are not portrayed as dominant characters, and some show signs of fear. She goes against the usual ‘female’ stereotype by giving orders and being the 'leader' of the exploration team. Given that Prometheus is of the sci-fi genre, Scott also explores themes such as life, death, creation and destruction.

Item 2: ALIEN (1979)

I chose ALIEN as my second film because it also clearly shows a strong female character throughout the film. Scott explores a completely new style of sci-fi, and the choice to have a female character as the protagonist was a bold yet successful decision. So successful, in fact, that James Cameron decided to continue the Alien series with Aliens and Alien3. This also spawned the film 'Alien VS Predator' in 2004.

Item 3: Thelma & Louise (1991)

I chose this film because 2 strong female characters feature in it. Scott's idea for this film was turned down by other directors because of the two females, so he decided to direct it himself. I think it is a crucial film to include in my catalogue.

BOOKS:

Item 4: Virgin Films, RIDLEY SCOTT, by James Clarke (2002)

This is an excellent book and also a great piece of evidence. Although it is old and does not cover his most recent films, it still gives me a lot of information through in-depth 'written documentaries' about each of Scott's films, including detailed plots.

Item 5: Pocket Essentials, Ridley Scott, by Brian J Robb (2001)

This little book is from a series, this particular one being focused on Scott. This book is a biography about Ridley Scott in general, and alike Item 4, focuses on each of Scott's films. It also goes into great detail about Blade Runner, including quotes from the designer of the futuristic city scape. It gives me a sense of the difficulties faced by directors of sci-fi films when it comes to sets and props. The sheer amount of detail described gives me a sense how much work Scott puts into each of his films, and how he examines each second to make sure it is right.

MAGAZINES:

Item 6: Empire Magazine 'Ridley Scott On Prometheus' (Issue 275)
This interview with Scott poses a lot of questions to him. I think fans of Ridley would find this interview very useful. Definitely worth including in my catalogue. 

WEBSITES:

Item 7: http://crowsfeatmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/great-scott-films-of-ridley-scott.html 
This blog is written by a fan of Ridley Scott, and offers a range of articles on some of his best/worst films and even quotes from interviews. I found it to be useful as it details Scott's bad moments, such as the screening of 'Legend'. 


Item 8: http://laceysfilms.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/ridley-scott-as-an-auteur/
This website is very sophisticated as it is written by Nick Lacey, a film critic. He answers very accurately the question that I have asked. He even links the score of Thelma and Louise, which is a western road movie (in which the main characters are very strong females), to the score of Blade Runner - a techno score. In my opinion this makes Scott an auteur - the way he can make his films visually/audibly stunning  and continue his style throughout his films.

Item 9: http://ayjw.org/articles.php?id=748281
This article is written by Colleen McCollough, and explains clearly how Ridley Scott can be an auteur. McCollough describes how Scott portrays female characters in his films, very often being mentally strong, intelligent characters. In the Alien Quadrilogy, the main protagonist, Ripley, is a woman. She is the only survivor in the first film. McCollough has also listed the sources from which she cited quotes, sites that could be very useful to me. This is a very helpful article.

Item 10: http://mag.newsweek.com/2012/05/13/ridley-scott-s-history-of-directing-strong-women.html
This article does not have any clear title, and is quite obscure. All I can tell is that it is from a online journalism website and features, so it says, a quote from Ridley Scott. I almost rejected this item, but considering how useful it is, showing Scott's opinions on female protagonists, I have decided to keep it. It is so useful because Scott has clearly stated why he likes working with female actors so much, and he even compares Noomi Rapace (Prometheus protagonist) with Sigourney Weaver (Alien protagonist) - which I find to be a valuable piece of information. 

Item 11: http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/05/17/work-life-balance/thank-you-ridley-scott-for-putting-strong-kick-ass-women-in-movies-your-whole-career-270/
Written by a woman called Meredith Lepore, this article seems to be a tribute/thank you to Ridley Scott, thanking him for creating 'kick ass women'. Meredith mentioned how before Ellen Ripley, women in other films were only powerful if they had superpowers, or had a strong man beside them. Ellen Ripley was the first, and pivotal, normal female protagonist. A useful article.

 Item 12: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/20/136462014/looking-back-on-thelma-louise-20-years-later
Although this article does not seem to have a writer, whoever wrote it was clearly a fan of Thelma and Louise. The writer describes them as 'fighting mad' and 'liberated'. This article is very useful as it is opinionated and shows how Scott created these two female characters, and made them icons for women, as well as men.

Item 13: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/auteur
A very simple piece of research, but it is still important. I think that the definition of the word 'auteur' is crucial to my investigation.

IMAGES:

Item 14: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fextraterrestrials.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FXenomorph&h=0&w=0&sz=1&tbnid=u-gbu1Z-Y3iUVM&tbnh=184&tbnw=274&zoom=1&docid=EMKJHnZVZQ2LhM&hl=en&ei=5Q9lUvD_HOeO7QaEyoHYDw&ved=0CAEQsCU
This painting is of the infamous Xenomorph from the Alien Quadrilogy. The painting is by art surrealist H R Giger. After watching the interview with Scott in item 10, the significance of this Alien species really shows. This alien was unlike anyone had ever seen before, as it was completely 'unconventional' of previous aliens, and it was beautifully horrific. Some people even said that the Alien had subtle female attributes to it, and in this picture it certainly has an unsettling 'feminine' look to it. Perhaps this is why Scott worked with the Alien creature so well. It could be argued that this picture is what made Ridley Scott an auteur. I find this very valuable.

INTERVIEWS:

Item 15: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q33hW8oHVE
In this interview with Scott from 1979 he discusses his reaction to the Alien creature, which is shown in Item 12, when he first saw it . His exact words are 'I nearly fell off the desk, said 'that's it' and why look farther?'. I think this could be argued that this makes Scott more of an auteur because he did not plan this moment, it was spontaneous and he turned it into something that made him renowned worldwide. This point is not directly relevant to my question, but I feel that it does show Ridley Scott to be an auteur, so I have included it anyway.

Item 16: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfELI4G0Fro
This is an interview with Noomi Rapace about her role in Prometheus. I find the interview very useful as it backs up my question about strong females, as shown in item 10. Noomi describes how she first met Scott, and how they got on so well straight away. This also solidifies the fact that Scott gets on so well with female actors and loves to work with them (he prefers them to male actors), as he states in item 10.

Rejected Items:

Item 17: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridley_Scott
One of the first websites I went to while researching Ridley Scott. Although Wikipedia contains endless data about Scott, his films, and even the characters in his films, it is pure information. It has no opinion or anything I can use relating to my question.

Item 18: http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/20-crazy-facts-about-thelma-and-louise-20-years-later-2453038.html
Similar to Wikipedia. This site contains 20 facts about Thelma and Louise. Although I do find it interesting, the site has no value to my question and does not help me prove that Scott is an auteur.

Item 19: Gladiator (2000)
Although it is a very good film by Scott, it does not feature strong female characters as much as some of his other films. It is very male-orientated.

Item 20: Robin Hood (2010)
This film was originally my 3rd Item, but I switched it with Thelma & Louise as the film is much better suited to answering my question.