La Haine
Mathieu Kassovitz, 1994
 La
Haine is a social drama set in the industrial suburbs of Paris,
in a typical kind of French suburban housing ghetto where it's
not unpleasant to live - there are parks and football fields
but there is nothing for the young to do. They don't go to
school, they're bored - they 'hang around'. Against this background
an Arab boy is critically ill with a gunshot wound. A police
revolver has found its way into the hands of a young Jewish
skinhead who vows to even the score if his pal dies. The film
depicts the reality of the young people's frustration and boredom.
The director undercuts this with a thrusting camera style which
punctuates their frequently very funny dialogue.
Jodie Foster: "This movie rocked me. It's as simple as that. I
left my seat thinking here is a young film maker who finally has the
maturity and depth to deal with urban unrest without losing his soul..."
TASKS AND ACTIVITIES
What do you have in common with the teenagers in this film? Is
there anything in the film that you can identify with? What would
you change to put it into a British context?
Ma Vie en Rose
Alain Berliner, 1997
This film sensitively tells the story of Ludovic, a little girl
born in a little boy's body. For him, nothing is more natural than
to change his gender. As a hopeful and sensitive child, he believes
that a miracle is going to happen. He will be a girl, no doubt about
it, and he's in love with Jerome, his school mate, and son of his
father's colleague. Initially a source of amusement, an outrage begins
in their suburb when the two boys are discovered pretending to get
married. The family begins to realise with horror that his desire
to be a girl isn't just a little boy's fantasy. They try to make
him change his mind, but to no avail. The situation turns into a
real-life drama of intense reactions from neighbours, friends and
teachers, resulting in a profoundly optimistic ending. The film looks
at a child who is different and how this can affect the parents,
the neighbours and the entire community in which they live.
Alain Berliner: "The movies often treat sexual identity as
comedy material. With 'Ma Vie en Rose' I wanted the child's innocence
and his amazing certainty to make his questions touch our hearts
and allow us to understand them. There is a lot to laugh about in
the film, but there is also a good dose of drama."
Further suggestions:
My Life As A Dog
Lasse Hallstrom, 1985
Set in Sweden in the 1950s it deals with the experiences of a twelve-year-old
farmed out to relatives when he becomes too much for his mother to
cope with. Contrasts village and city life.
The Outsiders
Francis Ford Coppola, 1983
The film is adapted from an SE Hinton novel; the kids are looking
for a better world. The street life of Tulsa is divided into the
'socs' who go to college and the 'greasers' on the other side of
the tracks.
Rumble Fish
Francis Ford Coppola, 1983
Also based on a novel by SE Hinton. The hero figure, played by Mickey
Rourke, coasts through life - a casualty of too many rumbles. He
is worshipped by his kid brother (Matt Dillon) who doesn't see the
damage done by so many violent gang fights.
Salaam Bombay!
Mira Nair, 1988
The streets of Bombay are full of homeless children begging. The
experiences of a runaway eleven-year-old boy in the red light district
of Bombay.
The Last Picture Show
Peter Bogdanovich, 1971
The problems of adolescence in a small roadside town in the 1950s
Texas. Sexual intrigue, disillusionment and the humour of growing
up are accurately and sympathetically depicted within time and place.
The Girl with Brains in her Feet
Roberto Bangura, 1998
Jack is a beautiful thirteen-year-old mixed race girl with a talent
for sprinting and a taste for adventure. The film is set in 1972,
in Leicester and looks at the pleasure and pain of being a teenager.
The Year My Voice Broke
John Duigan, 1987
Set in 1962 in an Australian backwater town this film looks at adolescent
love, the supernatural and history repeating itself.
Twenty Four Seven
Shane Meadows 1997
Darcy, played by Bob Hoskins, decides to inject a sense of community
and purpose into the disaffected youth of a Nottingham suburb by
re-opening a club.
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