New Acquisition: Le livre d'image (2018)

 

New acquisition: Deux de la Vague (2010)

 

Masculin féminin (1966)

 

New acquisition: Sight & Sound

 

Charlotte et son Jules (1960)

 

A jilted man rants at his mostly silent former lover. 

Satirical early short film by Jean-Luc Godard (who dubs Belmondo's voice) is slightly amusing for the misogynist and madcap rant the guy delivers, but does get enervating soon.

 

Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux (1962)

 

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.

Intense and intricate tale of a downward spiral, all told straightforwardly in chapters and in an almost exhilarated style, enhanced by Anna Karina's marvelously convincing and mesmerizing performance is arguably one of Godard's greatest masterpieces.

Maltin***: "Complex, fascinating 12-chapter portrait of a prostitute..., told in a documentary style. Probing look at the manner in which women and men view one another - and a celluloid valentine to Karina, upon whose mere presence Godard seems to be transfixed." 

Breathless (1983)

 

When Jesse Lujack steals a car in Las Vegas and drives down to LA, his criminal ways only escalate - but when will it end?

From memory: Disappointing, superfluous remake of the Jean-Luc Godard classic reduces to the original's story into a fast-paced superficial crime story, all modern-looking and shiny colorful, but without any substance whatsoever (which may have been Jim McBride's intention, but still isn't anymore exciting).

Halliwell (no star): "Fashionable amalgam of sex and violence, borrowed from A Bout de Souffle but far too long after the event." 

Maltin**: "Remake of landmark 1960 Godard film...but lacks its sociological potency. Gere's kinetic performance is something to see, but his character...soon grows tiresome."

 

Loin du Vietnam (1967)

 

On the set: Jean-Luc Godard

New acquisition: Une femme est une femme (1961)

 

Détective (1985)

 

At a Paris hotel, a hotel detective fired after a murder there, is still investigating helped by his inspector nephew and girlfriend. A boxing manager, owing money to a couple and the mafia, rides on a match next day.

Typical for its director, this overpopulated crime puzzle is made with brilliant style and has its moments of miniature intellectual insights and wit and is never boring, but on this occasion doesn't quite add up.

Halliwell*: "Eccentric Grand Hotel-style compendium with many baffling asides presumably attributable to the director. One suspects that the audience is expected to be a detective too."

Maltin**: "The scenario takes a backseat in this talky, contrived film noir homage...The look and feel are uniquely of the director, but it's ultimately annoying, more a concept than a movie." 

Charlotte et Véronique, ou Tous les garçons s'appellent Patrick (1959)

 

King Lear (1987)

 

As the world recovers from the destruction of the Chernobyl disaster, William Shakespeare Jr. the Fifth  attempts to restore the human race's great works of art.

Radically obscurantist contemplation on Skakespeare's classic play presents itself as a wild associative stream of images and sound, in a for Godard typically brilliant montage, but presupposes an audience of polymaths; for everybody else it is of limited interest.

Halliwell (no star): "Sheer nonsense doodled by the director with someone else's money."

Maltin*1/2: "Bizarre, garish, contemporary punk-apocalyptic updating of Shakespeare classic. Little to be said about this pretentious mess except...avoid it." 

 

New acquisition: Détective (1985)

 

Pierrot le fou (1965)

On the set: Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Paul Belmondo

Une femme coquette (1955)

 

 

A young woman is tempted to flirt with a stranger.

 

Jean-Luc Godard's first short is a lively and to the point adaptation of a Maupassant story, nicely lensed on the streets of Geneva.

Charlotte et Véronique, ou Tous les garçons s'appellent Patrick (1959)

 

 

Two French college girls each meet a boy named Patrick and quickly realize that it is less a coincidence then they think. 

 

A nicely executed tale (written by Rohmer) convinces with its light touch and witty dialogues.

 

 

Masculin féminin (1966)

 

 

A romance between young Parisians, shown through a series of vignettes.

Quirky, witty, meandering analysis of young relationships may appear fleeting at first sight, but is fascinating to watch and reveals much more under its surface; and, alone Jean-Pierre Léaud is worth the admission fee.

Halliwell**: "An exploration of pop culture and politics, in a sequence of episodes intercut with arbitrary happenings, and as much concerned with form as content, moving cinema away from straightforward narrative to something more abstract and less interesting."

Maltin***: "Engaging, original concoction mixes politics, sex, comedy, nostalgia with standard boy-meets-girl theme." 

 

 

Masculin féminin (1966)

Chambre 666 (1982)

 

 

During the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, German director Wim Wenders asks fifteen other famous directors to give their views on the future of cinema.

 

Curious short documentary with an interesting idea is fascinating for its array of important directors and their views, but is generally, due to the temporal nature of the query, outdated. 

Numéro deux (1975)

 

 

An analysis of the power relations in an ordinary family.

Experimental video essay is quite a demanding watch, since Godard manages to continuously irritate and provoke his audience off guard, but again compelling enough to keep its attention.

 

Maltin**1/2: "Fascinating but self-conscious and confusing aural visual smorgasbord detailing the effects of capitalism on a modern family."