La Haine (1995, Mathieu Kassovitz) and City of God (2002, Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund) are both similarly featured, critically acclaimed and publicly praised films. Throughout both films, techniques like mise-en-scene, cinematography and subliminal messages and values are used to create an overall stylized genre of social realism and uses the film language to support it through meaning.
The context of the films LH and CoG supports the reasons by the directors to create such a stylized film and genre. They both take influence from contextual events in both countries, far across from each other in the world, however they both document the same form of genre and social type issues through a feature film. LH was majorly influenced by the director Mathieu Kassovitz and what issues were happening at the time in France: riots, immigration, racism, police domination, politics and guns. The certain messages and values that Kassovitz were trying to address needed a stylized attention plan to capture the audiences and convey these messages. CoG has a very similar sense of reasoning, by the factors of the directors and film crew behind it were focusing on the context of Brazil at the time, much like LH. Brazil had and still has a massive gap between the rich and the poor, which was the main catalyst for the other issues that are targeted in the film: poverty, guns, drugs, gangs and police. This is similar to La Haine in the sense of wanting to use stylistic choices to promote the films, so more audiences watch it and show the true messages and values.
The narratives of the two films are similar in their characters, however they have many differences in their sense of linear running. Both use their distinct narratives to help with the stylistic influence of the social realism genre. LH uses a straight linear narrative over the space of 48 hours, following three young men on the streets of a dangerous Paris in the 1990s. The narration is sparse, but gives an indication to the desolation of Paris and these three characters at the time, often referring to 'the fall' and 'the landing'. There is a particular sense of realism with the narrative, considering how all of much the audience do is observe these three characters over a weekend in Paris. Incredibly dissimilar to typical film narratives, the applicable social realism associated with this sort of observation, creates an overall stylized look of grittiness and danger as well as forwarding the messages and values behind the film. On the other hand, CoG has a much more active narrative. The narration is done by the protagonist, Rocket, which allows a more personal relationship with the film, with sympathy towards the character being stuck in the middle of a gang war. Additionally, the narrative is nonlinear, which uses multiple flashbacks to follow a wide range of characters over a couple of decades. Although complicated, it creates an odd style of narrative technique. It draws in the audience, as it is a publicly acclaimed film, watched internationally, it shows how the narrative draws the audience to watch CoG and understand the meaning of the stylized social realism genre. Therefore through both distinctive use of narrative technique, it shows the social realistic genre and pushes the idea and the meaning behind it.
Another stylized technique would be the use of cinematography by the filmmakers. In particular, Kassovitz decided to use camera techniques to show the thought processes behind the use of violence in those times of France. As the violence and riots were a lot more mentally provoked by racial attacks, Kassovitz focused on the facial expressions and body language used by the characters. By putting them in situations in which they would be tested, Kassovitz produced scenes that clearly were directed the way that allowed the audience to communicate with the audience in a way of thought processes. For example, when Vinz is watching a man shoot the bouncer from the club, a close up shot of Vinz’s face is used in the same frame. This allows the audience to connect with Vinz’s character and his attachment to the gun crime at the time to be shown, with how he either obsesses or is terrified. But it really shows how he’s transfixed to the use of a gun. The cinematography used in CoG is particularly used to point the messages and values in an obvious light, and as well as sometimes make them uncomfortable to focus on that. Within the scene of the shooting of the child, cinematography is used as an audience POV shot. Though the audience are behind the child Steak, being forced by Lil Ze to choose a victim, it also brings an emotional connection, as though we are the ones holding the gun. This gives the film a certain appearance of danger and violence by using sympathy to get the preventing meaning across to the audience. Overall, the cinematography in LH and CoG charges something a far cry from other films, as it's not something used to perturb a particular scene in that film to be the best one ever. As the cinematography is unique throughout the scenes of both films, an atmosphere of the danger in those times and places is established over the narrative. In addition this concedes the meaning behind the film--to get the messages and values of poverty, violence and country conflict--to be a focal point of the films.
In conclusion, the stylistic choices made by the filmmakers in the films LH and CoG such as cinematography, narrative technique and editing are used to promote the meaning of the film in correlation to the overall look. How the film makers used the particular style of the appearance--the use of black and white or the use of a powerful narrator--encourage the messages and values of the film, power and poverty, by assistance of the atmosphere.
The context of the films LH and CoG supports the reasons by the directors to create such a stylized film and genre. They both take influence from contextual events in both countries, far across from each other in the world, however they both document the same form of genre and social type issues through a feature film. LH was majorly influenced by the director Mathieu Kassovitz and what issues were happening at the time in France: riots, immigration, racism, police domination, politics and guns. The certain messages and values that Kassovitz were trying to address needed a stylized attention plan to capture the audiences and convey these messages. CoG has a very similar sense of reasoning, by the factors of the directors and film crew behind it were focusing on the context of Brazil at the time, much like LH. Brazil had and still has a massive gap between the rich and the poor, which was the main catalyst for the other issues that are targeted in the film: poverty, guns, drugs, gangs and police. This is similar to La Haine in the sense of wanting to use stylistic choices to promote the films, so more audiences watch it and show the true messages and values.
The narratives of the two films are similar in their characters, however they have many differences in their sense of linear running. Both use their distinct narratives to help with the stylistic influence of the social realism genre. LH uses a straight linear narrative over the space of 48 hours, following three young men on the streets of a dangerous Paris in the 1990s. The narration is sparse, but gives an indication to the desolation of Paris and these three characters at the time, often referring to 'the fall' and 'the landing'. There is a particular sense of realism with the narrative, considering how all of much the audience do is observe these three characters over a weekend in Paris. Incredibly dissimilar to typical film narratives, the applicable social realism associated with this sort of observation, creates an overall stylized look of grittiness and danger as well as forwarding the messages and values behind the film. On the other hand, CoG has a much more active narrative. The narration is done by the protagonist, Rocket, which allows a more personal relationship with the film, with sympathy towards the character being stuck in the middle of a gang war. Additionally, the narrative is nonlinear, which uses multiple flashbacks to follow a wide range of characters over a couple of decades. Although complicated, it creates an odd style of narrative technique. It draws in the audience, as it is a publicly acclaimed film, watched internationally, it shows how the narrative draws the audience to watch CoG and understand the meaning of the stylized social realism genre. Therefore through both distinctive use of narrative technique, it shows the social realistic genre and pushes the idea and the meaning behind it.
Another stylized technique would be the use of cinematography by the filmmakers. In particular, Kassovitz decided to use camera techniques to show the thought processes behind the use of violence in those times of France. As the violence and riots were a lot more mentally provoked by racial attacks, Kassovitz focused on the facial expressions and body language used by the characters. By putting them in situations in which they would be tested, Kassovitz produced scenes that clearly were directed the way that allowed the audience to communicate with the audience in a way of thought processes. For example, when Vinz is watching a man shoot the bouncer from the club, a close up shot of Vinz’s face is used in the same frame. This allows the audience to connect with Vinz’s character and his attachment to the gun crime at the time to be shown, with how he either obsesses or is terrified. But it really shows how he’s transfixed to the use of a gun. The cinematography used in CoG is particularly used to point the messages and values in an obvious light, and as well as sometimes make them uncomfortable to focus on that. Within the scene of the shooting of the child, cinematography is used as an audience POV shot. Though the audience are behind the child Steak, being forced by Lil Ze to choose a victim, it also brings an emotional connection, as though we are the ones holding the gun. This gives the film a certain appearance of danger and violence by using sympathy to get the preventing meaning across to the audience. Overall, the cinematography in LH and CoG charges something a far cry from other films, as it's not something used to perturb a particular scene in that film to be the best one ever. As the cinematography is unique throughout the scenes of both films, an atmosphere of the danger in those times and places is established over the narrative. In addition this concedes the meaning behind the film--to get the messages and values of poverty, violence and country conflict--to be a focal point of the films.
In conclusion, the stylistic choices made by the filmmakers in the films LH and CoG such as cinematography, narrative technique and editing are used to promote the meaning of the film in correlation to the overall look. How the film makers used the particular style of the appearance--the use of black and white or the use of a powerful narrator--encourage the messages and values of the film, power and poverty, by assistance of the atmosphere.