More and more films depicting people from the minority groups come out in theatres all over the world. Presenting another world that coexists with the world of the majority, such films educate and open the eyes of those who do not notice or even hate the individuals that are different in terms of class, health or mental abilities, and nationality or race. This paper is thus going to compare three French films depicting the life of the individuals with those shot in the United States.
Hate (La haine) by Mathieu Kassovitz
The film by Mathieu Kassovitz raises the topic of the life of people in the Parisian suburbs in all its tragedy and hopelessness. The minority group is represented by the trio of different nationalities, namely Jewish, African, and Arab. Being the typical inhabitants of their district, the three friends have troubles with police and are instantly interfered with street fights and violence. The director successfully demonstrates how the poor area and the street life affect the individual and how racial discrimination gives the non-French a hard time in an argument with police. The film shows the numerous examples of the unfair attitude of the society towards the representatives of the racial and class minority group but the most spectacular one is the point from which the movie starts. The event anticipating and motivating the characters for their further actions was the brutalization of the police towards their mutual friend who lay in coma and eventually died. This situation which was and still is not uncommon fully describes the status of the minority group in the French society. The similar film in the cinematography of the United States is Boyz N the Hood by John Singleton. The film has an identical depicting of life in the ghetto though conveys the motivational message of making peace and stay away from the troubles no matter what. Comparing the two films, it is evident that the same issue is depicted differently by the American and the European authors – while Kassovitz shows the ruthless drama as it is, Singleton adds morality.
Monsieur Ibrahim (Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran) by Francois Dupeyron
The film by Francois Dupeyron demonstrates the audience the life of the individuals of the minority group in terms of the nationality. The story of friendship of the Jewish boy and the Turkish Muslim old man is depicted against a background of the hardships of the non-French people living in Paris. In this film, the cross-cultural relationships inspire the audience and demonstrate that they are possible within any society and between all the nationalities. The lives of the main characters of the film are framed in the small street, poor neighborhood, and the small market. The director’s aim was to convey the atmosphere of hardships that the members of the minority group are struggling with and the spiritual strength that they have. As shown by Dupeyron, the life in the poor area can be easily savored by friendship and faith in spite of the financial difficulties. Dupeyron brings a positive message to his film thus inspiring the audience – in the end of the picture, Momo (the boy) becomes wiser and after the death of Monsieur Ibrahim, the shop is handed over to him. The cross-cultural friendship within a minority group is depicted in the American independent film Arranged by Diane Crespo and Stefan Schaefer. This motion picture reflects on the warm relationship between two women – the Orthodox Jewish and the Muslim. In spite of the films’ identity, the American one is more positive comparing to the European one where one of the characters dies. Here, the storyline is based on the same topic but the complexity of the secondary factors is lower than that in Monsieur Ibrahim.
The Intouchables by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano
The film by Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano shares the story of the relationships of the disabled man and his black caregiver. The Intouchables covers the issues of two minority groups at a time – the physically challenged people and people of another race and class. It is shown by the directors how the individuals from different minority groups can become friends and help each other by compensating things they lack and perfectly understanding each other. The gap between the classes and the races soon disappears because the souls have no distinctions and boundaries. There is one film that was recently shot in the United States that reminds of The Intouchables – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Just like in the French one, the film dwells on the physical challenges and nationalities and how these factors may not be an obstacle for the friendship. The film is as comic as The Intouchables but still seems to be a much lighter version of covering the topic.
All the three French films touch upon the nature of the minority group in terms of nationality and race and therefore – class. The directors demonstrate the insignificant status of the group in the today’s society, and it becomes evident that in spite of the seeming democracy, there are still so many things to work on. Comparing the European film to the American ones, it is clear that though the same topics are covered and the same issues are addressed, the truth is demonstrated differently. The American films are more concentrated on the positive message and thus illustrate the realms from the slightly slanted perspective while the French are more accurate and cover the problem more delicately.
