FILM SOCIALISME
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Written by Hannah Arendt, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other smart people
Released in 2010
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Written by Hannah Arendt, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other smart people
Released in 2010
Why would anyone view this movie? As it happens, lots of fine reasons are happy to present themselves, including the incredible Kurosawa-like colors, the inexplicable humor and absurdity, the presence of singer Patti Smith, the freedom of expression that feels like an ocean in the center of Nebraska, and the attempt to keep track of the number of deliberate cinematic errors. The latter issue in particular cracks me up and here's why: The errors only appear to be errors. I've read where director Jean-Luc Godard was trying to say something about the limitations of video. As a member of the viewing audience, I'm not certain I care all that much about the motives of the director. What I care about is what the film suggests on a subjective level. What Film Socialisme suggests is less limitations than possibilities. For instance, there are a couple scenes that appear in the cruise ship disco that give the appearance of having been shot with the video feature of a cell phone, with the sound being volume distorted and the visuals being grossly overexposed, both presumably technical deficiencies--except it works because the freaky colors and crumbled sounds evoke the feeling of being there better than all the expensive lenses and filters and digital transfers ever could do.
And sound is a crucial element of this movie. An off-screen conversation plays through the left speaker while an on-screen monologue relays through the right, and all of this comes into balance with the ocean roar blaring beneath the hull in perfectly leveled stereo. The effect is that the viewer's senses are treated as if he or she is right there on the ship.
A few words should be mentioned about the dialogue and the subtitles. First, French is not the only language spoken in this movie. For instance, I especially enjoyed the scene where the woman says goodbye in Russian ("Dasvidania") and the old man replies "Heil Hitler." Second, the subtitles are incomplete on purpose. That's part of the fun. If you take the thing too seriously, you'll become frustrated fast. The idea is that you are on a cruise ship (this one, by the way, sunk in the Mediterranean in January of this year) and part of what happens is that you only catch certain disparate snatches of speech. Technical inadequacies are just a part of life.
This is the most fun you'll likely have at the movies this or any other year. Joe Bob won't like it, but I say check it out.
And sound is a crucial element of this movie. An off-screen conversation plays through the left speaker while an on-screen monologue relays through the right, and all of this comes into balance with the ocean roar blaring beneath the hull in perfectly leveled stereo. The effect is that the viewer's senses are treated as if he or she is right there on the ship.
A few words should be mentioned about the dialogue and the subtitles. First, French is not the only language spoken in this movie. For instance, I especially enjoyed the scene where the woman says goodbye in Russian ("Dasvidania") and the old man replies "Heil Hitler." Second, the subtitles are incomplete on purpose. That's part of the fun. If you take the thing too seriously, you'll become frustrated fast. The idea is that you are on a cruise ship (this one, by the way, sunk in the Mediterranean in January of this year) and part of what happens is that you only catch certain disparate snatches of speech. Technical inadequacies are just a part of life.
This is the most fun you'll likely have at the movies this or any other year. Joe Bob won't like it, but I say check it out.
