Hate

    In the film Hate, Kassowitz outlines the dynamics of the social worlds of urban Paris, and the surrounding suburbs, but in a different light than one would think. Whereas it is generally agreed that Paris is a nicer, safer place to live when compared to the suburbs, Kassowitz demonstrates a differing opinion, and shows how socially alienating Paris really is to residents of the suburbs.

    It is obvious that the Kassowitz's character's find a sort of safe haven in their hometown, even though it is a place looked down upon. It is when they travel to Paris that they encounter most of their adversity, and become trapped in the unforgiving city. I believe that Kassowitz wanted to show Parisians that even though they may think they are socially accepting, their city is prejudiced against suburban outsiders. Vinz, Said, and Hubert were all physically in Paris, but they were still socially being shut out, mostly because of circumstances in their lives that were not entirely their fault. Kassowitz wanted to open people's eyes through civic cinema, and portray the world as real suburban dwellers experience it. If he didn't want to make the movie as realistic as possible, he would not have done as much research living in the suburbs, as he did. He wanted to make people see that the problems of the suburbs are in the here and now, and that society needs to change its unfair inequalities. 

    Kassowitz is obviously deeply concerned with the issues surrounding the French suburbs, and he, like many others probably do, wants to see a drastic change come about so that Paris is no longer as alienating to suburban residents. For the characters of the film, the city is like a glimpse of what their lives could have been like had they been born into more lucky situations, and it constantly keeps them down, and reminds them of their position in life.

European Social Realism

     Social realism is a technique used in filmmaking that strives to create a sense of the issues that everyday people deal with in reality. As Ken Loach says, in a socially realistic film, a character must not be "beautifully made-up," but must reflect a real person. The characters must act within their social contexts, and not portray some unrealistically stunning person with a remarkably perfect life, as is done in many Hollywood films. Social realism is a device through which filmmakers can send a message out to their audience. Loach says that these films are meant to clarify social issues, and force the audience to see the truth of the world in which we live, and the underlying problems that many people do not realize are present in society. For instance, Loach mentions a film about a woman who starts her own business. At first she is just a normal person, but owning her own business changes her, and makes her see that people will do anything for a profit, whether or not it is beneficial to other people. This film could be seen as a warning against what problems manifest in a capitalistic society, in which profit comes before people. In this example, it seems that many people just accept capitalism as the best form of economy, but social realism can be used to shed light on the downfalls of such an economy. Social realism is not meant to necessarily be solely entertaining, but is more of a work of art that carefully displays a snapshot of very real situations that have great meaning, and about which society needs to be aware. 

    All or Nothing, directed by Mike Leigh, is a good example of a film marked by social realism. First of all, none of the characters appear to be a typical Hollywood movie-star, with well above average physical attributes. Every actor in the film looks like a real working-class person that one might encounter on the street, and furthermore, they all appear to be exhausted with life, and generally melancholy. This is because in the real world, when one must schlep to work everyday, only to make enough money to stay above the surface, it is tiring, and leaves little room for great leisure and happiness. 

    

    Ken Loach talks of the instability of the modern-day working-class life. This instability is definitely portrayed in All or Nothing, in which the three families' lives are in constant turmoil, largely caused by the urban spaces in which they live. The families are physically trapped by the city, with continuous noise and bustle, and an air of anonymity. It makes sense that the characters would be annoyed with each other constantly, being confined to such small spaces, even outside. Also, the issue of making enough money plays a big role in the quality of relationships. For example, when Phil is scrounging for spare change, his family becomes quite tired of it, especially Penny. While the families strive to pull themselves out of their financial situations, their relationships begin to deteriorate. These are problems that real families deal with, and that the rest of society needs to be aware of. 

    It seems that social realism is a technique used much more in European films. Americans appear to be much more removed from trying to get to the bottom of our issues, which may either by why our directors don't utilize social realism, and may also be because our directors don't. It seems like Americans are much more liable to accept things as they are, whereas in Europe, there is more the sense of the power of the people to change what they feel is wrong about society.

Universality of Volver

The film Volver is a universal film for a few reasons. First of all, the movie deals with the subject of the relationship between mother and daughter, a topic that most women can relate to, no matter where they come from. The film stresses the importance of a strong bond between mother and daughter, and all women in general. Most of the men in the film are dead, but the women are strong, and stand together to live their lives fully. One can see the emphasis on this kind of strong relationship in the scene in which the mother who is supposedly dead tells Paula to be nice to her Raimunda. This then brings the two closer, and it is clear that Paula realizes that it is important to cherish her relationship with her mother. Raimunda's relationship with her mother is an example of what happens when mother and daughter do not stick together, but the theme of this important relationship comes out again when the two come together again in the end.

Another universal subject of the film is that of sexual abuse. Most society's deal with the problem of abuse against children, and Volver shows how sexual assault can tear people, and families, apart. Perhaps Amoldovar wished to make a social commentary on the subject, and show how common it is for children to be sexually abused, especially by men in their own families. There must be something about our society that makes these sexual crimes a norm, and allows them to constantly take place. I believe that Amoldovar wanted to make a statement against patriarchy, and emphasize the injustices that are usually made by men to women. 

A third topic touched upon in the movie Volver is death, which every person on Earth can relate to. We all die, and this film death is one of the major themes. First of all, even characters that are dead still play a big role in the other characters' lives. For instance, it is believed that the Raimunda and Sole's "dead" mother has been taking care of the sick Aunt Paula for years. Even though the mother is supposedly dead, she still has influence on people's lives. Death also acts as a liberation of sorts. When Paco dies, although Raimunda is strapped for money, she no longer has to deal with a brute husband who she did not seem to love. She then is empowered, and even begins running a restaurant on her own. For Agustina, her impending death is her character's biggest motivation throughout the film. Not only does she go on reality television to be guaranteed an operation, therefore putting off death, but she also tries desperately to find out what happened to her mother, perhaps to gain closure before her eventual death from cancer. Death is present all throughout the film.

Volver is truly a universal film. Its many themes are not just Spanish ones, nor are they European ones, but they are themes that most humans deal with.

Point of View and Interpretations

Point of view plays a much more key role in filmmaking than one may think. Usually the entire plot of a film is based on one character's point of view and interpretation of the occurring events. When seeing a film, the audience probably does not dote on the semiotics of the movie, but it is very important to understand how the interpretation of symbols affects the meaning of the film. 

In He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, the main feature of the film (the shock that Angelique has a distorted view of reality) is carried out by first showing Angelique's point of view, and then Loic's. We see how two people can have very different interpretations of the exact same events, conversations, symbols, etc. For instance, when Loic drove Angelique home, she thought it was because the two were having an affair, while Loic simply thought he was doing a favor for his neighbor's house-sitter. The idea that there are infinite interpretations of the same thing ties in with Saussure's theory of the sign. He theorized that no sign has one definite meaning, but that meaning is created only after someone else gives an interpretation. For instance, whereas the viewer of the film may see the plethora of hearts and flowers in the scene of the opening credits and think of love and romance, upon seeing the movie a second time, they might think of overwhelming obsession. This is because they have a different point of view after they have seen what actually happens in the film. 

Alfred Hitchcock's film Rear Window also ties into the subject of points of view and symbols and their meanings. Jimmy Stewart's character has a point of view drastically different from that of the people around him when he believes that his neighbor committed murder. When he sees that his neighbor stops his dog from digging in the garden, he's sees this as a sign that there is a body buried beneath the soil. However, to someone with a different point of view, the neighbor simply might not want the dog to ruin the flowers. Because the film takes place only in the main character's apartment, his viewpoint provides the main action of the movie. However, if the film were based on the viewpoint of the murderous neighbor, it would be a very different film. 

Because point of view is so important for a story line, many other filmmakers have also used it to their advantage to create interesting plots. For instance, in the movie Pulp Fiction, the film follows the lives of several different characters who are all interconnected, whether they know it or not. By changing the point of view every so often, the audience can see the bigger meaning of the movie, which is that one person's actions can affect many other people. This use of point of view actually seems to be very popular, as it is also used in the movies Shortcuts, Go, and Vantage Point to name just a few. 

It is obvious that the point of view and individual interpretations of symbols play a very important role in the art of filmmaking.

Influences of the French New Wave on Modern Filmmaking

The French New Wave can most definitely still influence the filmmakers of today. The themes that were espoused in French New Wave films could be seen as being even more relevant today, as our world is currently speeding further towards conditions that need criticisms the most. For instance, in Goddard's film Breathless, one character says that she doesn't want to be an actress because she would have to "sleep with" too many people in the process, implying that whatever talents she would contribute to cinema would not be sufficient alone. This commentary on the movie industry is still relevant because since Breathless, women continue to be objectified as sex objects, and our society's obsession with physical beauty seems to be higher than ever. Hollywood almost exclusively casts leading ladies or love interest as women who are obviously physically above average, and who do not represent reality. It is not be surprising that some modern-day filmmakers borrow the tendency of French New Wave directors to criticize social issues. In the movie The Stepford Wives, we can see a commentary on the expectations that women will be "perfect," and serve only as objects from which men will get pleasure. The act that the 1973 version was remade in 2004 only serves to prove that filmmakers are still very much interested in this issue, and that they are using cinema to express it. 

In addition, the directors of France's movement in cinema disliked typical, predictable, feel-good films. Today, we have so many mindless movies that come out of Hollywood, much like the ones that the directors criticized in Cahiers du Cinema. However, some recent directors have tried to move away from typical Hollywood, and have taken on more avant garde qualities, that reflect French New Wave films. For example, Stanley Kubrick was known for making movies that were "weird," and sometimes hard to understand. In the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut, he utilizes very lengthy scenes, much like in Breathless, to the point where one major criticism of the film was that the scenes were so tedious. The film also is not sugar-coated like many mainstream movies, and has a real-life quality, similar to New Wave films in which it seemed at times that the actors were improvising. Eyes Wide Shut has scenes of conversations that appear to be very real and relaxed, just like in Breathless. Kubrick's film also leaves one unsure of exactly what happened in the story, or what is going to happen later for the characters. This is much like the New Wave film 300 Blows, in which the audience must decide for themselves what the outcome is for the young boy who has just escaped from reformatory school. 

It is obvious that the directors of the French New Wave started a way of filmmaking that continues to influence many modern day directors.