"Language, isn't working!" - Adieu au langage [2014, France]

Jean-Luc Godard thinks so, among many other things as he usually does, in his latest cinematic dissection titled "Adieu au langage" [Eng. Title: Goodbye to Language]. If anyone thought the Nouvelle Vague was long dead, they certainly ought to have a word with this man before mouthing their verdict.












Ever the path-breaking maverick, Godard's latest film is proof enough that the octogenarian still has something to say about cinema. While it invests itself in a sociological theme, the film also 'visually' questions several unwritten golden rules concerning cinema as a medium. So much so that the very need for words and dialogues (read 'language') is often portrayed as being more or less redundant. You can therefore comfortably ignore a good chunk of the dialogues in the film.

Godard had done these before - deliberately cutting off sound during conversations, confusing viewers through sound effects, distorting time and flow with stop-slow motion - effectively challenging audience to de-construct what they hear and see. He now upgrades these ideas to cover present technology and digital media. The film is meant to be watched in 3D, and whilst I didn't quite oblige, one could pretty much see what he was trying to achieve, because it works to some extent in 2D as well - it draws you out of your comfort zone by distorting shape and form. This is Godard playing with cinema, like a kid breaking a toy apart and putting pieces back together.

Of course, he has some serious things to say as well in the process, like highlighting the lack of communication among people in modern relationships - "Soon everyone will need an interpreter, to understand the words coming out of their very own mouth", opines one of the central characters during a passage of play.

Apparently language isn't needed for love to flourish - Godard even considers it a hindrance, and anecdotally explains how a dog, without any structured language, succeeds in loving its master more than it does itself. Love is what we need, and love doesn't require language - that's the message, and as if to drive home the point, Godard ends his film with a dog responding to the babbling voice of an infant...

The audacious film-making is reflected in its choice of shooting equipment and post-processing as well - shot entirely in digital using no less than six different formats and frame rates, scenes are saturated to extreme levels to the extent that they appear at times to be deliberately degraded, which together with the swivelling camera movements, impart a degree of vicarious immediacy by mimicking personal videos made using a camera phone, echoing the narcissistic society that we live in. That much I gathered in my first two viewings, and I suspect there could be more to follow. Even at a short seventy minute runtime, the film is testing - who said Godard was easy! But if you're looking for something intellectually challenging over the festive period, this film might just do the trick. For them at least, it is certainly Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon.fr DVD Link [PAL] | Amazon.fr Blu-ray Link [3D]

 

The Nudity: Héloise Godet, Kamel Abdeli, Zoé Bruneau, and Richard Chevallier
We follow two couples going about their breakup over a series of montages, and during the instances when they're talking but not actually communicating, we see them depicted in the nude. The scenes are also interspersed with found/stock footage of sexual acts, none of which are titillating - unless you can get past those toilet noises. :-)

Seasons Greetings!

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Isabelle Huppert & co in Godard's "Sauve qui Peut (la vie)" [1980 France]

After spending the best part of the 1970's 'in research' as he puts it, Jean-Luc Godard returns to cinema emphatically with "Sauve qui Peut (la vie)" [Eng. Title: Slow Motion], an extraordinary dish nevertheless served with recognisable ingredients used in "Vivre sa Vie" and "2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle", but also flavoured with politics, sociology, the customary cynicism, and topped with an extra dash of mordant humour. But this film is more than that - Godard philosophises and experiments with theories on art and film - an exercise that re-establishes his undiminished love for the medium that is cinema, and a tacit withdrawal of his earlier claim that cinema was dead!

About the film:
The French title roughly translates as 'Everyone for himself', which may pretty much be what the film portrays, but it is the English title (Slow Motion) that gives a hint of his experimentation here. The technique used in the film isn't exactly slow-motion as used by François Truffaut quite beautifully in "Jules et Jim" - it is more like stop-motion (he calls it 'décompositions') used in some strategic moments of the film. Godard says that he was attracted to the idea of trying to find a different 'rhythm' with which to make cinema represent life, rather than the conventional 24 frames per second which we're used to. He reminds us that during the silent era where there were technical limitations, it was possible to depict events using different rhythms, and the audience readily accepted it, helped of course by actors who understood and achieved different rhythms through their very performances. On the film's concept, I'll quote his own words (translated of course): "...the idea I had for this film was that of a character who comes back, or is seen by others as coming back, and yet his return is a departure from somewhere. It's a problem that young people must experience - those moments when one has to not only find oneself, but also know where one wants to be in order to make a new start."

Storyline:
Yep, there is one - Godard works with a narrative for a change. It is about three characters with very different outlooks, as observed through three chapters - The Imaginary, Fear, and Commerce. A fourth chapter, Music, connects these characters together along with the film's theme music. Paul Godard, a film director and one of the three main characters, evades the amorous advances of a hotel bellboy to return to his flat, to realise that his girlfriend Denise had just left him - she'd quit her job in Television, and arrives at a village hoping to find some work at a local printing press. Denise is the second main character. The third is prostitute Isabelle, who goes about her business by confronting day-to-day challenges and embracing various opportunities. The chapters are essentially non-linear vignettes of these three characters interacting with people they know or encounter.

Intensely engaging, the film is also outrageously shocking in places, like the seemingly casual conversation Paul has with his football coach-friend, or the middle-aged client who wants Isabelle to pretend she's his daughter, and the 'orgy' she later participates in with a businessman, his male secretary, and another prostitute. But there are also some memorable film moments like when Paul leaps over the table to wrestle with Denise, the ensuing stop-motion accompanied by theme music, and the final scene of Paul's young daughter and his ex-wife walking away from the camera. The performances by the three main actors is excellent - Jacques Dutronc as Paul is convincing, Isabelle Huppert as Isabelle is incredible to say the least, and the exquisite Nathalie Baye shines as Denise - a role for which she even won a César - her first of many. The cinematography, editing, and soundtrack aptly compliment the film's theme. Needless to say, this is a superb Godard, and Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon.fr Box-set Link
This is the only sensible way to add to your Godard Collection. The Gaumont box-set comes with no less than nine films chosen from different stages of his career, includes generous extras, and fills gaps left by some of the more famous UK/US sets.




Isabelle Huppert:
It's taken a while but I'm glad to have finally started the filmography here of one of the most talented actresses ever to have appeared on screen - the magnificent Isabelle Huppert. Renowned for the challenging roles she often takes on, through her films she has made many an ordinary director look good, and fine directors great. There is very little I could possibly add to what has already not been written about this shining gem in the jewel of European cinema. It is however reassuring to see her still active in films these days, and I look forward to writing more about her work in this blog.




Compilation:
Catherine Freiburghaus, Anna Baldaccini, Isabelle Huppert, and Nicole Jacquet


Scene Guide:

• Denise is shown around the farm she's temporarily staying in, and the farm girl, played by Catherine Freiburghaus, interrupts the tour by demonstrating one of the things she quite likes when it comes to feeding the cows - a good lick between chores. :-D
• Prostitute Isabelle's sister comes visiting - she's in need of some cash, and wants to explore the option of turning some tricks of her own to make the money. Isabelle inspects the 'goods' she has on offer, and reminds her of what she should be ready to do in order to be successful. I've left their 'frank' conversation intact for those who can follow French. The sister is played by Anna Baldaccini.
• Isabelle with a middle-aged client multi-tasking his work with pleasure. Isabelle is of course played by the beautiful and talented Isabelle Huppert.
• It's all in a day's work - this is of Isabelle with client no: 2. An outrageously silly scene, she's expected to participate in an orgy with the proprietor, his male secretary, and a waiting prostitute Nicole. The extended scene is ridiculously funny as the client 'directs' how each of them should play their part in his fantasy. The poor Nicole who takes all their verbal abuse but gets on with it is played by Nicole Jacquet.

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Brigitte Bardot in Jean-Luc Godard's "Le Mépris" BR720 [1963, France, Italy]

It's Nouvelle Vague time..!

Jean-Luc Godard had wanted to do a film with Brigitte Bardot for a while, and when his first choice actress Kim Novak turned down the role for his new Franco-Italian production "Le Mépris" [Eng. Title: Contempt], an opportunity presented itself for his wish to come true. Brigitte Bardot was after all the most sought after among sex kittens by auteur directors, undoubtedly the best actress among her kind.

Brigitte Bardot was already a seasoned actress with a decade's experience under spotlight and a world celebrity, while Godard wasn't yet widely known beyond French New Wave devotees and of course his home country. This film would make him more widely known, not so much for its artistic merit, as discerning as it might be, but for Mlle. Bardot's presence in it, in colour, in CinemaScope, and occasionally in the buff to top it all up - who says nudity can't sell! Ironically Godard hated the novel and the script and couldn't wait to get the film out of the way. That doesn't mean he didn't bother to apply his genius, rest assured no detail was spared, expenses included - after all the film also stars none other than one of the granddads of cinema, the German-born director Fritz Lang (remember Metropolis) - Godard certainly can't be seen to be slacking here - and that's some pressure! As it turned out, while this may not be Godard's finest film (oh I hated the story too), it is interesting nevertheless because it's something totally different from his otherwise avant garde filmography - we get to see him making a mainstream film at last. But that doesn't mean he foregoes his trademark symbolism - far from it - it's there in many a nook and corner if you care to look for it, right from the compositions to the colour palette, the seemingly pointless musings which can initially go past your head but return with vengeance upon reflection, and his ironic sense of humour. It is a fine, stylish film in its own right, even if it's an atypical 'Godard'. Those who've yet to get acquainted with his work can easily start here, and those who have, can see a different side of him here. Needless to say, Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Storyline:
Playwright Paul (Michel Piccoli) has been commissioned to write the script for Hollywood producer Jeremy (Jack Palance) halfway through making his cinematic version of Homer's Odyssey. The film is directed by Fritz Lang (as himself) and Jeremy isn't liking the way it is shaping up. But when they meet, Jeremy couldn't help noticing Paul's attractive wife Camille (Briggite Bardot), and the rich and powerful magnate tries everything at his disposal to entice her. When Paul pretends not to notice Jeremy's infatuation for his wife and tacitly even encourages Camille to accompany Jeremy when asked, a rift opens in the husband-wife relationship. Paul only hoped it would placate Jeremy and enable him to complete the juicy project which could potentially pay off his mortgage, but he never envisioned this could lead to Camille loathing and wanting to leave him. For the best part of the film, the couple are arguing and hurting each other verbally as their relationship breaks apart in front of our eyes. The idealist Paul begins to equate the protagonist of the film he's writing - Ulysses - as someone like himself, forced to wander the Aegean for ten years even after the battle had ended. According to his theory, Ulysses avoided returning to Penelope because she had already stopped loving him before he originally set sail...

Even though I own the DVD which would suit Godard fans the most for its generous interview extras, I also recommend the recent Blu-ray release of this film - sunny Capri from the 60's and gorgeous Bardot's curves come out in striking detail in this exceedingly well restored version.

Amazon Blu-ray Link




Compilation: Brigitte Bardot and Linda Veras



Scene Guide:

• The film practically starts with a naked Camille asking Paul for reassurance that he really liked her various body parts. It is a silly lengthy scene probably inserted at the insistence of the film's financiers - an excuse to show Brigget Bardot who plays Camille in the nude...
• A bemused Jeremy watches some takes by Lang for his film - this is the scene of a mermaid apparently enticing sailors to their doom at sea. The Sirena is reportedly played by Linda Veras (according to IMDB).
• Snippets from various little scenes - of a long and protruded argument between Paul and Camille, first at their home, and later at Jeremy's villa by the sea. Towards the end, Camille swims off bidding Paul farewell, that leaves Paul devastated.

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Anna Karina & others in Godard's "Vivre Sa Vie BR720 [France 1962]

What better way to kick-start 'Nouvelle Vague' or the French New Wave cinema in the blog than introducing two of its most illustrious figureheads in a single post - the legendary writer-director Jean-Luc Godard and the equally vibrant and beautiful actress Anna Karina, both of whom produced so many influential works when the French New Wave was in full flow.

When "Vivre Sa Vie - film en douze tableaux" [Eng. Title: My Life to Live - a film in twelve tableaux] was made, Anna Karina was also married to Godard. And the film is perched at the crest of Godard's own 'cinematic' wave - pretty soon he'd be famously forecasting the 'death of cinema' itself - as if he were the only person that mattered. Apart from his occasional megalomania, he was quite a genial chap, I'm told. But one thing we all have to (even if grudgingly) agree upon, is that he's one of those rare geniuses who appear just about once in a generation to change the way we see things - to enrich humanity.

Having said that, my favourite Nouvelle Vague auteur has been the more 'approachable' François Truffaut, and who in the overall scheme of things was perhaps a greater influence than Godard in the way Europeans make and view cinema today.

Coming back to "Vivre Sa Vie", we can see Godard had already begun questioning the virtue of cinema. The film's protagonist Nana, wants to have a career in cinema, but ends up becoming a prostitute - perhaps Godard is alluding to the compromises one would sooner or later have to make even when it comes to cinematic art. He even quotes at the beginning of the film, "Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself" (Montaigne), so we can anticipate where he is heading no matter what the story he's going to tell. As it happens, "Vivre Sa Vie" is as the title suggests, twelve disconnected vignettes, almost short stories of Nana, giving us a snapshot of her life, circumstances, and choices. Each one of them leave us high and dry just when we want to know more - it is like showing us something that's of interest, and pulling us away almost by force before we're done, as if that is not what he really wants us to see. But that is the point of the film - to make us look beyond the apparent. Well, people have interpreted the film in numerous ways - but I for one believe that while that is perhaps part of its charm, one doesn't need to be a scholar to appreciate its virtues either - just take it the way you see it.

And even if Godard isn't my favourite New Wave director, this little gem is a pure classic in the way a story is told. Along with "2 ou 3 Choses que je sais d'elle" (Two or Three Things I Know About Her), this is my favourite Godard film - in its simplicity, eloquence and sheer visual poetry - it even makes you want to forgive the man's arrogance. And I haven't even started to talk about the film's technical merits (I won't - it's understood)..!

This film has been essential viewing for not just those who love cinema, but even those who went on to become masters in their own right.




Compilation:
Those seeking another 'regular' nude scene may not find this appealing, they can gladly give this a miss. But for those wanting something different, yet beautiful, this may be of interest. Made of two scenes - first is when Nana is just getting her feet wet in her chosen profession (she is even reluctant to kiss her client on the mouth), and the second when she's become all too accustomed to the trade. There is no nudity from the sensual Anna Karina herself, but some of her other co-actresses, as Nana goes about looking for a girl who may be free to join her client in a threesome.





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