Watch the trailer
Written by: Holly Gent & Vincent Palmo Jr.,Michèle Pétin & Laetitia Masson (adaptation and dialogue)
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin
Rated: R
Plot
After writing for Cahiers du cinéma, young Jean-Luc Godard decides making films is the best film criticism. He gets Beauregard to fund a low-budget feature, creating a treatment with Truffaut about a gangster couple.
Verdict
I love any movie about an artist's journey. Godard rejects all the rules and standards for film making. Even we as the audience question his methods. He wants to find the art and spontaneity in filming, but that irritates everyone around him due to inconsistent schedules and expectations. At every step Godard defies conventions, and no one thinks his film will succeed. Despite all of this Godard not only persevered, he is at the forefront of a movement and this was the start of a decades long career.
Watch It.
Review
Richard Linklater directed the French-language film without being fluent in French. He relied on an English and French script, rehearsed in English, and trusted his French producers, editor, and actors to bridge the gap. Linklater believed that his directorial style and visual nature of cinema would help.
Jean-Luc Godard frequently wore sunglasses, which became a signature part of his public image. The movie's title "New Wave" is a reference to the French New Wave cinema movement, which Godard helped start with François Truffant, a movement that defied conventions and filmed on location with low budget productions and an emphasis on improvisation.
 |
| Guillaume Marbeck plays Jean-Luc Godard |
Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) is a movie reviewer that wants to make movies, stating the best criticism is to make your own movie. He wonders if he's missed his chance, having waited too long. The style Godard pioneered seems more out of necessity than choice as he faces difficulty with financing.
Godard gets his actors, a friend he promised would be in his first film, Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) and established star Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch). His shots are quick and he doesn't want more than one or two takes as rehearsing robs the scenes of the authenticity he desires. On the first day he pauses filming at mid day. That riles his actors and producer. How will he finish the film on time without putting in full days?
 |
| Zoey Deutch plays Jean Seberg |
Godard seeks authenticity. He doesn't want actors to rehearse or have expectations. He wants to capture real reactions and emotions. The filming schedule relies on his feelings and mood. He has to capture it and that means an ever changing expectation as he searches for maximum creativity. Godard directs from a feeling, not a plan. When he's done for the day, he's done.
This is certainly a film buff movie. I've seen Breathless, and it's likely the people watching this movie have as well. That movie is a character study of a car thief. It's importance is best seen by comparison to contemporary movies. What that movie does seems less impressive now as it's concepts have been adopted.
Everyone at some point doubts Godard, from producers to actors to editors. Even his friends dismiss the completed film. We never see him doubt. He defies every convention, and yet in the end he creates a revolution in French cinema. Many people in history have defied convention and been too early or existed at the wrong time. Godard managed to create something at the right time that captured the moment and arrested audiences.
No comments :
Post a Comment