35 replies to this topic

[jrobert]

Great stuff, Leary and SoNowThen. That's a wonderfully concise analysis of Godard's approach. Let us know, Mike, when your piece comes out.

[M. Leary]

I will J Robert.

If I ever get to teach at a Christian university or grad school, I will make sure to teach a class solely using the Histoire(s) du cinema as a starting point. There is something extremely "christian" about Godard's thinking regarding film history and the role of film in culture. Maybe someone should write a book about that for someone like...Brazos Press.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Not that anyone asked, but just in case anyone has forgotten about this, here's a link to the existing Hail Mary thread (and some of the issues that spin out of films like that).

[Diane]

We have several threads dealing with Godard, but I'm going with this one, since the conversation seems to be a bit more general.

Anyway, I have never seen a Godard film, and I'm thinking I should probably remedy that. OK, where to start? A quick glance at Netflix shows that these films are available:

Breathless
Contempt
A Woman Is a Woman
My Life to Live
Alphaville
Aria (one piece in the collection is by him)
Band of Outsiders
In Praise of Love
Keep Your Right Up!
Le Petit Soldat
Les Carabiniers
Notre Music
Rolling Stones: Sympathy for the Devil (hmm...that's strange)
Tout Va Bien

And Pierrot Le Fou and Weekend can be saved, so maybe they'll be available soon?

I see that the folks behind the Top 1000 list at They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? love Breathless the most, followed closely by Contempt.

Should I start with those? Are they best for a newcomer? Do you have a favorite? Do tell.

Too bad M is gone for a month.

[Persona]

Of the six on your list I've seen, I would instruct you to stay far away from Alphaville, it would certainly be a turn-off for your first Godard. I am leaning towards starting you right at the beginning with Breathless, which throttled the global film experience. However I am torn, as My Life to Live is probably my personal favorite.

-s.

[Doug C]

I agree with Stef, it's probably between Breathless and My Life to Live for starters, although I think I'd recommend the latter for you, Diane. I have the impression that you might like it a lot.

And Alphaville isn't all that bad! I actually thought it was pretty fun, being the SF nut I am.

[Russ]

Get Band of Outsiders among the first couple. It's also a takeoff on genre films, but there's a lot of freshness brought to it.

[Darren H]

Start with Breathless*, Band of Outsiders, and My Life to Live. A Woman is a Woman is awfully fun, too. (How could a Godard/Karina teaming be anything but?) And, especially with these early films, know that they are fun. There's a seriousness to them too, of course, especially in My Life to Live, but Godard loves the cinema so much, and that love is infectious in these films.

[Diane]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'm looking forward to these films.

*takes off for Netflix queue*

[Anders]

Breathless was my first Godard film, and I loved it! It's exactly the kind of film that influenced the types of films that I love and so in a way, I guess I couldn't help but like it.

[theoddone33]

I started with Breathless, which grew on me. Then Alphaville, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Finally I saw Contempt, which had moments of absolute brilliance.

Looking for more... I've seen an early Godard short starting Belmondo that was good. Hopefully I'll make an effort to see Band of Outsiders soon.

[Diane]

I went with Breathless for my first Godard, since it had the most recommendations (I'm so democratic!).

Pretty fun film! Maybe "fun" is not the right word, but you know what I mean. The story kept me guessing the whole time, which made it feel fresh and alive (the jump cuts helped there, too). Also, there was so much natural beauty onscreen, from the inside of a diner to a trip up an escalator to shots of Paris at night. Quite lovely to watch. Really fun moment when Michel studied Bogart's picture.

Moving on to My Life to Live before too long....

[Doug C]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Diane. We showe dit at Flickerings this year and emphasized its sense of off-the-cuff fun and experimentation, so I'm glad you perceived that and didn't take to too seriously as a Famous Art Film.

Vivre sa vie references Dreyer's Joan of Arc film, so I wonder if you'd want to see that first? It's a short and beautiful reference and not one that requires any specific knowledge of Dreyer's film, but it might be more emotionally resonant if you've seen it. Just a thought.

[Diane]

Vivre sa vie references Dreyer's Joan of Arc film, so I wonder if you'd want to see that first?  It's a short and beautiful reference and not one that requires any specific knowledge of Dreyer's film, but it might be more emotionally resonant if you've seen it.  Just a thought.

The Netflix DVD sleeve actually mentioned Dreyer's film, and I thought to myself, "Hmm, maybe I should see that one first." Will do.

[Diane]

I agree with Stef, it's probably between Breathless and My Life to Live for starters, although I think I'd recommend the latter for you, Diane.  I have the impression that you might like it a lot.

And you were right!

Caught My Life to Live last week. Loved it. Breathless was fun, but this one was more for me.

I enjoyed the structure of the film—how it was divided into 12 scenes. I don't think I'd seen this done anywhere else other than Scenes from a Marriage, though I'm sure there must be plenty of other examples of this style out there.

It was also interesting to note just what Godard chose to reveal or hide from us, like how he hid the faces of the two characters during the breakup scene at the beginning. Or how he sometimes hid Nana's face while she talked to Raoul, right before she went to work for him.

Anna Karina was sheer perfection as Nana: beautiful, tragic, and human. It was such a painful thing to watch her desperately try, for a while anyway, to hold onto at least some pretense of playfulness, even though any expectations she may have once had have slipped away:



Beautiful use of footage from The Passion of Joan of Arc here, too, as you pointed out, Doug. Only someone without a heart wouldn't feel for Nana during this scene:



(Obviously, I like uploading pics.)

And the ending. Oh. My. Word. Didn't see that coming! At all! And I'm not sure why because it seems like Godard provided quite a bit of foreshadowing. But still. That was a shocker. And it happened so quickly that it felt very real, almost like I was right there on that street as a witness. Of course, the documentary-like style added to that feeling.

[Doug C]

Great comments, Diane, I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I watched a bit of the film again a few days ago (only a bit) and noticed the way Godard hid the faces in the beginning, too, which I hadn't recalled; it definitely makes the closeups in the theatre watching Joan all that more emotionally affecting. Anna Karina added a lot of romanticism and charm to Godard's early films, and is one of the prime factors why his earlier work is more popular than his later work.

Your comments make me want to revisit the entire film sometime soon...!