"I had a dream last night, you know. I was walking all alone at the edge of a cliff. The path was only wide enough for one person. Suddenly I saw two twins walking toward me. I wondered how they would get past. Suddenly one of the twins went towards the other and they became one person. And then I realized that these two people were North and South Vietnam being united." -- Christophe, Juliette's young son
In the opening moments of the film, Godard introduces us--with his famous whispering narration--to Marina Vlady, the actress who will play our protagonist "in a few frames," to paraphrase. He repeats what he says, only a few frames later, this time introducing her as Juliette. This is what cinema is. A movie that isn't completely self-conscious, is little more than a book on film. In addition to Godard's ramblings on such topics as Vietnam, Paris life, and philosophy, Juliette often thinks outloud, speaking directly to the audience, while looking at the camera. We even get the privilege to experience her thoughts first-hand a few times.
"Her," is not Juliette nor Paris, as some theories state, but the cinema. In fact, we learn very little about Juliette or about Paris, as they are both lost behind ridiculous questions with no answers and the result of these questions. Commercialism is a mask for some people, and many scenes suggest lifestyle is becoming more important than life. The final shot of the film shows many household products--such as Tide--scattered in a field. Godard is say we must live together with each other and these objects--as they are all together in the field--which, as he states, sadly live on longer than we do. The more primitive we are, the happier we become, but we are to conditioned to use them, so we must make a compromise on both sides.
But what are the two or three things Godard knows about cinema? Everything there is to know about this young artform. Future filmmakers must take a work of art like this and figure out everything else, because right now we only know two or three things about it.
Discuss the film and others at:
http://moviefan.proboards20.com
In the opening moments of the film, Godard introduces us--with his famous whispering narration--to Marina Vlady, the actress who will play our protagonist "in a few frames," to paraphrase. He repeats what he says, only a few frames later, this time introducing her as Juliette. This is what cinema is. A movie that isn't completely self-conscious, is little more than a book on film. In addition to Godard's ramblings on such topics as Vietnam, Paris life, and philosophy, Juliette often thinks outloud, speaking directly to the audience, while looking at the camera. We even get the privilege to experience her thoughts first-hand a few times.
"Her," is not Juliette nor Paris, as some theories state, but the cinema. In fact, we learn very little about Juliette or about Paris, as they are both lost behind ridiculous questions with no answers and the result of these questions. Commercialism is a mask for some people, and many scenes suggest lifestyle is becoming more important than life. The final shot of the film shows many household products--such as Tide--scattered in a field. Godard is say we must live together with each other and these objects--as they are all together in the field--which, as he states, sadly live on longer than we do. The more primitive we are, the happier we become, but we are to conditioned to use them, so we must make a compromise on both sides.
But what are the two or three things Godard knows about cinema? Everything there is to know about this young artform. Future filmmakers must take a work of art like this and figure out everything else, because right now we only know two or three things about it.
Discuss the film and others at:
http://moviefan.proboards20.com