2. Discussion Questions
• 1. Like many other films we have seen this semester, this film
explores the experiences of young males in Paris. What
similarities / differences do you see in the representation of
young men between this and earlier films? What similarities
/differences do you see in the representation of urban
experience?
• 2. This film is known as much for its visual style, editing, and
camerawork as for the content and subject of the film. What
about the film’s visuals and editing are noteworthy? What is the
relationship between the visual composition and the narrative?
• 3. This film, according to many people, captured the zeitgeist of
1990s France and indeed, many people regard the film as
prophetic and have reflected on it during later periods of tension
and violence (the riots in the Fall of 2005 for example). What can
we understand about 1990s France by watching this film?
4. “The World is Yours…”
• The Banlieue
• Paris
• Apartments
• Derilect Buildings
• Train/Cars
• The Street
• Police Station
5. Film vs. Media (News/
Documentary)
• Blending of realist,
expressionist,
documentary styles
• Referencing (in
fictionalized mode) real
events
• Motif of media/media
narrative throughout
film
• Presence of film
throughout (evidence of
influence by film)
8. Lack of Mobility
• Cite appears as closed
space
• Multiple references to
attempted escape
(Hubert)
• Cars that don’t run or
won’t start
• Missing the Train
• Entrepreneurial efforts
blocked/ destroyed
9. Visual / Stylistic Elements
• Claustophobic framing
• Self-conscious / stylized
camerawork
• Mobility of the camera
• Unusual cuts/ inserts
• Return to black and
white
• Music video aesthetics
