La Haine (Hate) - film analysis (scene-by-scene)

(Note: unfinished analysis, but I'd like to at least post what I had written. I've much too many half-written writings lying around, which are no excuse for not publishing.)

I'm sitting at one of the pillars at Royce, witnessing chaos of half-naked students running on a slip-and-slide, and I can't help but feel that energy aligning with my own: living in the moment and doing whatever I desire. For nerdy me, that means analyzing a film I just finished watching in class out of pure excitement. I am jittery with anticipation (and coffee I had beforehand) because my mind is overflowing with thoughts that are running through my mind regarding the film. Originally I wanted to do this with my headphones, but I left them at home and considered going back to retrieve them. But I am in such a mood that I prefer to do this outdoors, absorbing the sounds and energy around me to fuel the vitality I am experiencing. I also am afraid that if I don't scribble these notes now, I never will, and I genuinely do want to pen my thoughts, as well as keep up a habit of blogging.

Anyway, the class I'm in, French 41, teaches us to interpret movies through a historic and films lens. During the first movie we watched, our Professor advised us to fully enjoy the movie without worrying about analyzing it. And I did just that. However, the past six weeks have equipped me with so much film and historic knowledge that watching today's film was the first time I ever felt so conscious of every single film detail and movement. There was so much going on that it was intense to analyze each detail as well as keep up with the plot. My thoughts are overpouring, so here we go:

(1:13 - 1:18) Before we even see the film's title, we are introduced with an aggressive scene, foreshadowing the title of the movie (Hate).

(1:25 - 1:30) On a second viewing, I find out that the names of the actors correspond to the names of the characters in the film itself. When a director decides to do this, I imagine he is trying to blur the line between the film and reality.

(1:34 - 1:37) We were told before the movie began that this wasn't based on real events, yet there is a note that reads that this movie is done on behalf of all those who died during the making of the film itself. This leads me to believe that although this movie may not be entirely non-fictional, certainly there was real tragedy happening that the film addresses while the tragedy is happening itself, instead of waiting years after to film about it. This exemplifies the importance and gravity of the situation.

(1:40 - 2:04) The narration addresses a quote about "it..." "It is about..." is the narrator trying to address what this film is about? We see something plummet toward earth with sounds we would imagine to hear in outer space...no one is falling off a "skyscraper" as the narrator was trying to depict...is he getting at the global society at large? Until we are met with a bang and explosion before we even land...but isn't that inevitable in space? Is that the point of this illustration? Hmmm...

(2:05 - 4:37) Cheerful, upbeat music juxtaposes with the montages of explosion and violence. But on further hearing, we hear that the music is about someone who was once a prisoner too...so the dark song is hidden by its upbeat, yet not so shrouded from the imagery we see on screen. The song is in English and has a yearning undertone to it. The entire visual sequence is distraught with police and people, and we have no background information to make sense of this situation. Is this a flashback? A flash-forward? There's so much chaos I don't know where to draw my attention. Maybe that's the point.

(4:38) The sign reads, "don't forget: the police kills" marks this a civil war between the police officers and the people. Finally some understanding of the situation.

(4:49) Who is Mako? The people want justice for him, so is this what has prompted all of the violence?

(5:21) Along with the non-diegetic music, we are finally permitted to hear the sounds of the riots, the blasts, the chaos of all the people scattering...why did the director choose to take so long to draw us in to the sound?

(5:39) A voice-over suggests that this entire first sequence was part of the plot, and not an introduction to it.

(6:03) We finally see a face on a screen, presumably a TV news channel, validating our theory that the preceding scenes were intentional to the plot and is taking place in the present.

(6:16) The "TV" shuts off as soon as Abdel is shown on screen. That is all we needed to know...that he is in custody.

(6:19) Clocks tick in anticipation of something...of what? as we read 10:38 on the screen...AM? PM? Why such a random time?

(6:23) The scene opens with a bang as we see a young boy with his eyes closed...after just seeing the movie itself, I know that the movie ended with a gunshot as well as this boy's eyes closing. What a beautiful wrap-up.

(6:55 - 7:13) I have learned in class about the lateral tracking technique which intentionally highlights differences or similarities; as we see the camera moving left to right on these guards?, we notice they all look the same: white, young/middle-aged men reading blank expressions as they stare off into distance...to what exactly? since all their gazes are shifted to their right.

(7:20 - 7:26) How did he get to the back of the car so stealthily? We started with him facing the guards, so his movement to the back of the car must mean that either the guards are so focused on whatever is happening in front of them, or the boy is quite skilled and adept at being sly...or perhaps both.

(7:27) His graffiti on the car leads us to think of stereotypes...he must be from the ghetto.

(7:30) Said wrote his name on his graffiti. He is not scared of the guards knowing his identity. Or perhaps they already know him?

(7:48) When Said is calling out for Vince, we see that Vince lives in a neighborhood full of other people, devoid of privacy. We have made some assumptions about his lifestyle growing up.

(8:10) The man yelling at Said is black...we can't make out the color of the sister because she is so far away...is that intentional? Is the film trying to make us guess if the film is highlighting class or racial differences? Is it trying to make us assume that this is a "minority" only residence, since there is such close-up on the man who is of little significance instead of on the sister?

(8:19) The sister is white, and we have heard no racial comments by Said, despite his aggressive tone. The situation seems to be blind to color, highlighting the post-colonial era of France.

(8:25 - 8:30) This is our first impression of Vince...a goofball who is dancing? Who is coping with the situation? Quite some mystery around his character.

(8:31 - 8:35) Interesting camera placement. Why is the camera situated here?

(8:36 - 8:38) The way Said barges into the room and how the camera focuses on Vince's knuckles and his previous brawls with Vince's sister makes it seem like he is barging in to knock Vince out.

(8:40 - 8:48) Aw...an endearing kiss on Vince's cheek, resolved with an infatuated smile on Said's face suggests otherwise from the above interpretation. Their hostility is their way of communicating friendship and love to each other it appears.

(8:57) A cute encounter in which Said fakes winning rock-paper-scissors also sets the scene of their quirky friendship.

(9:11 - 9:26) The camera is clever in slowly panning Vince's room while conversation between him and Said ensues. We get a better glimpse into his room, small, yet full of items that showcase his personality: books, a desk, lots of posters. From this moment onward, I am acutely aware of the camera's movements.

(9:33 - 9:37) Such a gory description comes to Said's mouth quite naturally and quickly, which is a bit disturbing, since it's also being said to his pal's sister.

(10:04) "(the school) burned down..." this line horrifyingly strikes a chord with the audience. We are finally getting a sense of the weight of this situation.

(9:55 - 10:27) This is a long take, in which the camera is following all of the characters in one take. We feel more intimate with the characters, as the camera follows movement of the characters. The absence of parental figures who are replaced by a grandma who the boys don't take too seriously (when the sister tried to snitch out Said, he didn't wince) may play a role to their growing up.

(10:30 - 11:01) I am quite impressed with this camera and filming technique, since we don't see the lens of the camera in the mirror when we zoom into it. We feel very intimate with the scene, as if we are there ourselves. I am recalling that quite a few scenes in this film are recorded on a mirror (many bathroom scenes)...what is this trying to tell us, when we see the mirror of the character speaking, instead of the character himself? More importantly, in which scenes does this occur? This scene is also our first glimpse into Vince's violent tendencies. Or is he talking to a mirror because he is feigning aggression?

(11:02 - 11:52) The camera follows Said and Vince as they wander into a building empty of cars in its parking lot. Despite the camera staying in location as Said and Vince move toward the building, their voices are at the same volume. The focus of this scene is to exaggerate the emptiness of the parking lot while we are trailing along with the two main characters.

(12:10 - 12:39) As the camera slowly discovers Hubert's gym, we see Said full of curiosity and shock, while Vince wears a distraught face, as if he expected the gym to be trashed.

(13:02) The film highlights Hubert's name on the poster...interesting.

(14:20 - 15:45) The camera leisurely follows the three main characters. This is when I realize that perhaps only one camera is being used to film the movie because they're on a budget? Or perhaps to make the setting more natural? To make us feel like we are there ourselves, since the camera constantly has long takes that move slowly to show us the surroundings? Vince is in the middle, leading me to believe that he is the "leader" of the group and the protagonist the audience should identify with.

This is one long take. What's further interesting is that while Hubert is shadily doing some trade deal with some character, although the camera is focused at Hubert, we don't hear him as much as we do Said's bickering with Vince. The camera once again is dictating that Said is the protagonist.

(16:00 - 20:38) I am distracted by the camera slyly following the characters in one long take because I am very aware that the director is making us feel as if we are there ourselves...dream-like, as if we are a background figure of the plot ourselves, watching closely from a distance, yet not entirely partaking in anything. I am noticing that in general, with this kind of camera technique, one in which the audience seems like a bystander from afar, that this technique is further highlighted when random characters obstruct our line of vision. I have seen this happen in many other scenes in the film, and I understand now that the director is really trying to make us feel like we are there ourselves.

(16:35) Clever Said steals the food. He knows how to get the means to survive. It's in his instinct.

(17:11) We see a mature figure backing Said and resolving the situation fast. His authority clearly garners respect.

(18:55 - 20:00) There is not much respect for police figures, and the police figures are not surprised themselves. All the men are crowded in his face baring no personal space and are verbally abusing them too. An interesting relationship that has been clearly well-defined.

(19:09) I have heard this phrase multiple times in the movie, in one semantic or the other: "we aren't making any trouble." The defense being that no action has been taken, so why is there commotion about it? The theme is reiterated by the first narration, when the three barge into the hospital, when they later enter an art gallery and are forced to leave, and also later when Vince imagines shooting a police officer, along with many other situations. The idea that "nothing has yet been done," is an interesting motif.

(19:21) "Pig school..." we finally see that they refer to the police as "pigs;" it's not a random insult, but a nickname they call them...we are reminded that pigs are dirty...what other traits are they trying to allude by calling them pigs?

(19:30) We once again see the "leader" using his arms to stop violence. He is quite mature and is often seen in the film as one who ensures that the rest don't get into trouble by drawing boundaries, physically with his arms.

(20:15) The same character mentioned before forces the trio to leave the rooftop, and they obey because they seem to respect and trust him.

(20:37 - 20:42) The camera lingers on Hubert's sly face until we are approached with the ticking clocks again, reading another random time. 12:43. PM, it seems.

(20:46 - 20:55) There are a lot of animal motifs...pigs, cows, and now in the background we see a large alligator? crocodile? in the playground. Displaying the animal as half the space on the scene surely foreshadows something...what? That they will get eaten up? What relationships do crocodiles and pigs have in the real world? I'm not quite the animal expert, but I'm sure there are analogies to draw here, especially because the first few moments of the scene are devoid of speech and the next scene zoom in on the characters, leaving out the animal.

(20:56 - 21:14) A sharp cut to this scene, as the characters are discussing sex in terms of "fucked her like an animal." We cannot miss this animal motif.

(21:15 - 21:18) As the camera cleverly focuses on the characters, it seems as if by chance and not by intention that the background also has a van pulling up. I love so much the techniques being employed by the camera, and I am very much analyzing its every movement.

(21:33) Interesting camera angle to employ from below the angry three characters as they are yelling at the reporters...

(21:50) The shaky film here convinces us that we are seeing through the recorder of the reporter.

(22:10 - 22:12) What is Thoiry? Another reference to animals, using "zoo..."

(22:19 - 22:30) The camera lingers here for a long time, despite no characters on screen, but we assume them to be coming from the entrance in a bit. We are forced to take in the state of this place. Many boxes piled up everywhere...is someone moving? did someone just move in? is this a shipment? Many questions spin in my head.

(22:55 - ) Again, as the audience member, we feel like we are sitting quietly in the corner of the room observing the chaos take place. I feel like I'm on screen myself.

(23:20) The car being burned doesn't quite elicit the kind of response from these three men that the character hoped for. Instead, they are amused by the entire situation. They are all getting robbed (Hubert's gym for instance), so his car being trashed doesn't phase anyone.

(23:36) "It's just a car." We are made to believe that the situation is so dangerous that losing a car is not that significant. Life is made to seem more precious.

(23:50) "One of our guys is dying..." Yes, this dialogue pinpoints that life is much more valuable than possessions, but who is it that is dying? At this point, it is made unclear, but we know later that it is Abdel.