How was the mirror shot achieved in ‘La Haine’?
The 1990s was a great decade for French cinema, with filmmakers like Olivier Assayas and Claire Denis rising to prominence. Movies such as Beau Travail, Les Amants du Pont Neuf and La Haine were some of the most prominent French releases to emerge near the end of the century, reflecting an urge to depict complex themes such as class, gender and race.
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, La Haine was one of the most acclaimed movies of the decade, expertly crafting a tale of urban discontent, poverty and brutality. The movie follows three friends in the aftermath of a senseless attack on their Arabic friend at the hands of the police. This leads to a riot and, subsequently, plenty more violence.
The movie is a poignant look at the less romantic side of Paris that is rarely shown on screen. Since then, many more movies have emerged that reveal the city’s deprived, marginalised areas, such as Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood and Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables.
La Haine still resonates today, with many people of all ages coveting the film almost 30 years later. The film, which stars Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, is incredibly engaging, with Kassovitz bringing together a group of young actors who had relatively little acting experience, making it all the more realistic.
The story is told through shadowy black-and-white cinematography that alludes to classic noir stories from ‘50s Hollywood. There’s an innate grittiness to the shots of the Parisian banlieues achieved by using chiaroscuro lighting, especially during night scenes. Additionally, cinematographer Pierre Aïm used interesting techniques such as split diopter shots and dolly zooms to make for a captivating watch. However, there is one scene that has enthralled viewers more than any other, leaving them questioning how it was even shot.
When Cassel’s Vinz is doing his best Travis Bickle impression in the mirror, snarling his lips and exclaiming, “You talkin’ to me?” the camera pans from the back of his head to the reflection of his face. Yet, the camera is nowhere to be seen, despite that being impossible without the use of computer-generated special effects to remove it from the shot.
However, the crew only used practical effects, and the way the scene was filmed was deceptively clever. The shot begins with the back of Vinz’s shaved head dominating the frame before he ducks to fill his mouth with tap water, the camera hovering above him before he rises and spits in the sink and stares into the mirror. The back of Vinz’s head actually belongs to a stand-in actor who mirrored Cassel’s movements, with Cassel standing in front of him, framed by an imaginary mirror. When Cassel ducks down, so does the body double, subsequently disappearing from the frame and allowing Cassel to take over.
Cassel looks directly into the camera lens as though he is looking into the mirror, and the finished result is impressively realistic. While some incredibly eagle-eyed viewers have analysed the scene to discover that some of the body double’s actions are milliseconds out of sync, you can’t deny it is an incredibly clever trick.
Revisit the scene below.