"Les Miserables" is the expansion of director Rajli based on his short film of the same name. I haven't watched a short film, and I don't compare which one is better. I only start from the long film.
The title is taken from Victor Hugo's classic, which sums up the concept of the whole film straightforwardly. What the director wants to show is a dire social picture. This social picture comes from Montfermeil, a small town in the east of Paris, France. It is also the location of the place in Hugo's novel. On the outskirts of Les Bosquets in this small town, it is the “crossfire zone” that is constantly rendered throughout the film. Through this miniature mirror image, the film reflects the intertwined grand social proposition.
The director intercepted the crowds in front of the Arc de Triomphe after France won the 2018 World Cup as the opening shot. The noisy crowd came from different skin colors. A long drought and rainy victory created an illusion of unity. The shots that switch back and forth between mid-distance and close-up accurately grasp this state. The gradual sense of urgency and crisis in the open space. The noise effect does not interfere with the narrative, but keeps the film in the unofficial state. The opening was pushed to a climax. The sense of hierarchy within the scene aggravated the audience's anxiety and confusion.
The "Mbappé" shouted in the crowd seemed to be an ironic clue deliberately laid down by the director. This man of color was so helpful in the World Cup that he saved France. The beginning not only refers to the blackization of the French football team, but also introduces a footnote to the wave of European immigration. The simple beginning contains such rich meanings, explaining the complex social problems of France under the general background, and describing the dual attitudes of the French towards marginal ethnic groups.
The film follows the movement of patrolling police cars into this turbulent suburb of Paris. The three protagonists are all local policemen, but they have different perspectives from the same identity. There are a large number of patrol, corridor and chase scenes in the film. The director uses a shaking hand-held lens to ensure the fluidity of the lens during the continuous focusing process, thus giving the narrative a kind of absurdity in the chaos. Sense of order. These shots reveal the director’s intention to scrutinize society. Although the use of hand-held lenses is not uncommon in movies that criticize reality, and has even been suspected of flooding, Lajli has restored the mediocre hand-held mirror to the coherent beating. Of course this On the one hand, of course it has a lot to do with solid text. In Les Misérables, after Gwada injured Issa with Flashball, the camera moved between the faces of three policemen. The confrontation between movement and silence not only explained the occurrence of the incident, but also elaborated on the different attitudes of the subsequent three. The foreshadowing. It can be seen that a large number of hand-held lenses are not to show off skills, but to enhance each other with the text, pulling the extensibility of violence beyond the emotional rendering.
In the film, the camera is watered down at certain moments. Children running on the street, children of the girl next door secretly photographing the children of the girl next door, the black gangs around, the angry policemen, the policemen clamoring "Never apologize", in essence, they It's the same, a small piece of the puzzle in this society, are they designed characters? As the movie progresses, the state that may be ignited and irritated at any time subtly clamps the power of different communities. Behind this may be the identity class, power, or the clash of primitive status, which comes from the innermost fierce battle. . In this way, the director presents social violence, a dramatic and very daily violence, a collection of accidental and inevitable.
While dealing with external contradictions, the director aimed at internal alienation, which is a special feature of "Les Miserables". Christ, who believes in "C'est moi, le loi" (I am the law), is rude and racist; Gwada, who is a black, is slightly restrained but also above the law, while the newcomer Stéphane hates all rudeness In many cases, he is like an outsider (not so "white" and not so powerful). During the patrol, the differences between the three intensified. Until the shooting of the black child occurred, the long-dormant contradiction finally came to a climax. The previous narrative foreshadowing made the arrival of this climax without any trace of design.
The so-called non-lethal weapon of flashball (anti-riot ball bullet gun) has been very controversial in the West. The official definition is that it does not invade the skin, but online data shows that there are not a few injured. The local police frequently used it in the previous "yellow shirt movement" in France and even in the riots in France more than ten years ago. When the United Kingdom, Germany and other European countries clearly banned the use of this type of weapon, the French "Internal Security Act" has already clearly stipulated the applicable circumstances and the applicable population of Flashball. It is said to be applicable, but the police basically have the right to use it as soon as a riot occurs. In fact, the police have considerable discretion in the definition of "riot".
On the other side, a black child recorded this scene with a drone. The drone video recording key information has become a hub, and the characters once again unconsciously fall into a pull-out dilemma. The exchange of interests between the power group headed by the former jihadist Salah and the local police force shows that where there are people, there is power, and the power that governs the backwardness or advancement of society comes from the change and exchange of power, not the elimination of power.
What the whole film describes happens to be the flow of power, wrapped in an atmosphere of violence, and individuals are constantly being decomposed. It is difficult for you to measure these roles with a simple view of good and evil and right and wrong. The moment Issa stole the lion cub from the circus was the beginning of his gaining power. This theft caused the greatest tension in the film. To some extent, the police and local gangs fighting for ownership and possession of the lion are all powers. Split and control. The lion is a symbol of violence and power, which means that the birth of power is accompanied by violence. An attempt to eradicate violence in such a social structure is as absurd as Kuafu chasing the sun.
When the little boy was crushed and locked in a lion cage, under the violent shock and confrontation, he completely lost his power (lion cub). How to regain the initiative? So there is the final corridor battle. Stéphane's so-called "love&peace" seems to be invalidated (Issa does not intend to be soft when facing Stéphane's plea at the end). Violence is the Ubis ring. Once it starts, strenuously stopping will only pay a greater price. The carnival at the opening and the flash melee at the end are the manifestation of violence. The inextricable Ubis ring uses violence to control violence and tooth for tooth. Ancient proverbs have been tried and tested repeatedly in modern society. Violence rooted in human nature has become force majeure, unpredictable, difficult to prevent, and difficult to resist.
It is worth mentioning that the violent world under Rajli's lens is also a patriarchal world. The existence of women is almost like a weak underbelly. In the process of advancing or fighting against violence, they are all aphasia, like soulless, passive containers.
Unlike Hugo’s novel, there is no character in the film with an impeccable personality like Aranjan. There is a plot in the novel where Javert, the policeman, stands beside the Seine River and falls into contemplation. In the second half of the movie, Rajili also arranges a similar "contemplation" scene. Christ sits on the sofa and frowns, silent. . In Hugo's novels, forgiveness points the way for evil, but in the film, such forgiveness no longer exists. Love becomes very fragile.
When the unbalanced high-angle attached shots pass through the daily suburbs of Paris, everyone is walking and running, sunlight and dust flowing through their hair, these individuals are very similar, dirty souls, good souls, they all look so Insignificant life.
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