In Praise of Godard

I finally caught Jean-Luc Godard's "In Praise of Love" at the theater. One of the most heart-stopped experiences I've ever had at the movies. In the past, I spent a lot of time & career trying to convince Texans to love Godard.

Tonight, there were three people in the seats and I was the youngest. Made me feel like I was an incontinent old fart. I've always said France is the USA's super-id, and that the French cinema has the same relationship with Hollywood.

But nobody's watching anymore, so I guess America no longer has the patience for such psychology.

I'm probably talking to about two people right now, but for those who thought Amelie was a fresh discovery, Godard made the movie first: about 15 different times.

In Praise of Love (2001)
Histoire(s) du Cinema (1998)
For Ever Mozart (1996)
2 x 50 Years of French Cinema (1995)
JLG/JLG - Self-Portrait in December (1995)
Hélas pour moi (1993)
Germany Year 90 Nine Zero (1991)
Nouvelle vague (1990)
King Lear (1987)
Soft and Hard (1986)
Détective (1985)
Hail Mary (1985)
First Name: Carmen (1984)
Passion (1982)
Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1979)
Ici et ailleurs (1976)
Numéro deux (1975)
Tout va bien (1972)
One P.M. (1972)
Gai savoir, Le (1968)
Week End (1967)
Chinoise, La (1967)
Two or Three Things I Know About Her (1967)
Made in U.S.A. (1966)
Masculin, féminin (1966)
Pierrot le fou (1965)
Alphaville (1965)
Married Woman, A (1964)
Band of Outsiders (1964)
Contempt (1963)
Carabiniers, Les (1963)
My Life to Live (1962)
Woman Is a Woman, A (1961)
Breathless (1961)

 

I'm guessing you've watched Fellini's late 70's, early 80's stuff (I might be wrong). The deal with the Euro-auteur club (1960's and 1970's) is that most worshiped the golden age of Hollywood. And they resented not being able to make the films that they loved. (Godard once said that the great tragedy of the French New Wave was that they couldn't make musicals starring Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly). I don't mean to sound jingoistic, but some of these auteurs, like Fellini, spent a good part of their latter years reacting against a Hollywood that they could not emulate. This automatically alienates U.S. viewers. We don't like our golden age Hollywood because it works. Early Fellini (La Strada, La Dolce Vita, Juliet of the Spirits) made it work. Then he became disillusioned, and cinema (the perfect illusion) doesn't work well with disillusion.

Godard's starting point is Hollywood, and that is probably where you should begin. These films are pleasurable because we can relate to his wonder, and brilliant because we know exactly what he he is reacting against. "Breathless" is our Bogart crime drama. "A Woman is a Woman" is our musical. "My Life to Live" is our feminine melodrama (where Godard's wife Anna Karina predates "Amelie"). Masculin/Feminine is our romantic comedy. "Pierrot le Fou" is our film noir. Alphaville is our science fiction. And "Weekend" is the end of our cinema.

Godard's style is postmodern in that he broke the rules of Hollywood modernity in order to prove Hollywood modernity's supremacy. In other words, he'll take you to the very edge of the precipice in order to save you with an instance of pure classical style. For example, in My Life to Live, he juxtaposes a dry reading by a French philosopher with a heartbreaking musical number. Each makes you appreciate the other all the more.

There can be no Pynchon without Shakespeare, and this is how it should be. Godard makes you feel he could not exist without Lillian Gish, and it feels right. Fellini makes you feel he only owes vaudeville, and this feels wrong.

 

side note: in 1968, Godard made a promise he would never make another film that did NOT explicitly reference the U.S.'s involvement in Vietnam. 34 years and films later, he has kept his promise. Many see this as anti-American. I see it as definitively pro-American.

 

Interesting article on why young film buffs ignore the "classics."

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2002/10/31/film_literacy/index.html