A Sea Of Change In Godard’s Film Socialisme
FILM SOCIALISME (DVD)
New Wave Films
Release date: November 7th 2011
Certificate (UK): PG
Running time: 101 minutes
Country of origin: France
Original language: French with English subtitles
Writer and director: Jean Luc Godard
Producer: Ruth Waldburger
Cast: Patti Smith, Catherine Tanvier and Jean-Marc Stehlé
To think about great moments in cinema history, is to recall movements like the Weimar Republic, Neo-Realism and the French New Wave.
To think about great directors from these eras is to naturally think of Fritz Lang, Vittorio De Sica and Jean Luc Godard whose works have not only defined these eras but still influence filmmakers today.
Film Socialisme is startlingly different from other works by Godard. It’s shot in HD with a 16:9 aspect ratio making it a first for the director who’s been making films since his debut in 1960 with Breathless.
Its story is split into three parts as he focuses on history, culture, philosophy and economics of modern Europe which he describes as ‘a symphony in three movements’.
Set on the SS Concordia, a cruise ship touring the Mediterranean, the first movement, Des choses comme ça (“Such things”) is a series of conversations between passengers. With an assortment of languages, they feature a war criminal, a former United Nations official and a Russian detective.
From there we move on to the second movement, Notre Europe (“Our Europe”) where two children demand answers from their parents who face a barrage of questions on liberty, equality, and fraternity.
After that, it’s on to the third and final movement, Nos humanités (“Our humanities”) which takes us to Egypt, Palestine, Odessa, Hellas, Naples, and Barcelona where Godard tries to retrace the footsteps of history using a montage of film clips, images and music.
It’s difficult to find the flow at first as the stories are so fragmented. They’re more like glimpses we get when peering through people’s living room windows as we pass by. We get a sense that there’s a bigger picture but we’re just not privy to it. It’s withheld and this is as much as of it we’ll ever see. We’re also constantly moving, pushing forward as the sea carries the passengers.
There’s some work involved in piecing it together and you take from it what you put into it. What you get out of the scene where French philosopher Alain Badiou gives a talk to an empty depends on how and what you feel about philosophy and the mindset of the average person who decides not to attend. What is philosophy, who is it for and what can you use it with?
While Godard’s work has been heavily criticised over the years for becoming too political, often rejecting the storytelling techniques he was so fond of during his Cahiers du cinema days with Éric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette, he’s a director who’s work has remained consistently challenging and important.
At the age of 80 whom of today’s directors can we say the same of 50 years from now?
Static Mass are looking for dedicated and passionate researchers and writers to join our team in 2012 on a voluntary basis, researching films and writing articles.
Based on the play Mein Kampf by George Tabori, Dawn Of Evil retraces Hitler’s early days in Vienna when he was a struggling artist, relying on the kindness of strangers.
Howard Hawk’s 1946 Bogie & Bacall classic is playing at London’s BFI Southbank on New Year’s Eve. But what makes The Big Sleep a film noir classic?
Wes Craven returns as writer and director for the teen slasher My Soul To Take, introducing us to the Riverton Ripper and the unlucky seven he’s going to kill!
Deconstructing Cinema strikes again! Frances Taylor takes a scene from Park Chan-wook’s romantic drama, I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK, set in a psychiatric institution.
