Thursday, April 21, 2005
THE CHILDREN OF MARX AND COCA-COLA
Saw Godard's Masculin-Feminin at the Music Box last night. I bought some popcorn when I got to the theater since I hadn't managed to eat dinner before the film. I know I complain a lot about movie theaters and moviegoers, so I have to admit I was one big pain in the ass last night. First of all, I was like Goldilocks trying to find a seat: too hard, too close, too far...ah, just right. Then I proceeded to devour my popcorn like Jennifer Connelly's home phone number was waiting at the bottom of the bag. I got butter all over my fingers and face, and since I forgot to get napkins, I wiped my fingers on the seat. I was eating so fast that the salt on the popcorn was stinging my lips and I made enough noise with the bag to turn several heads my way. I'm surprised that the other people in the theater didn't give me a beatdown.
So, on to the film. Hmmmm...Hmmmm...Hmmmm. I don't suppose I can keep doing this for a whole entry, huh? Well, I guess I could start off by saying M/F was, uh, very Godardian. I mean there wasn't a lot of plot, not even really much of a story. M/F announced in an opening title that it was going to present fifteen precise facts and there did appear to be about fifteen episodes to the film, although I can't really say if they were either precise or factual. There were proclamations, slogans, non-sequiturs, word play, eccentric behavior, and long conversations about politics and\or nothing in particular.
Jean-Pierre Leaud plays Paul, a Frenchman in his early twenties who has recently finished his military service. Paul is in Paris now, looking for something to do. He meets Madeleine (Chantal Goya) and starts working for the same magazine as her, doing interviews. Paul pursues Madeleine, who is pursuing a pop-singing career. He is something of a radical: he appears to be a member of the Communist party and, in one memorable scene, spray paints anti-Vietnam war slogans on the car of an American military official. These political scenes are intercut with other scenes that are typically Godardian in that they are like shabby parodies of American film noir. For example, at the beginning of the film, a man, played by Godard himself, is shot to death outside of a bistro by his wife. Later, a man in an amusement parlor pulls a knife on Paul, but then stabs himself in the chest.
M/F didn't quite work for me. I wasn't bored or irritated by it, but it didn't interest me either. One scene summed up the film for me: Paul is interviewing Mademoiselle 19, a young woman that appears to have won a beauty or modeling contest. He asks her personal questions about sex and politics in a condescending, hectoring tone. Paul comes off like a humorless jerk, while Mlle. 19 manages to hold on to her dignity and charm. M/F felt like a fight between Godard's humorous, playful side and his solemn political side, with politics taking the day. I don't have a problem with political film-making, it's just that when Godard starts to lecture on politics through the mouths of his characters, I start to feel very suspicious of him. His Marxist, anti-American lectures are so bullying that he starts to seem like someone who, if given his way, would make the world worse, not better. Indeed, the manner in which he places his political discourses is very telling. When talking about politics his actors appear to be nothing more than puppets repeating slogans that he has put in their mouths. At these moments, Godard loses a lot of humanity as a film-maker, and I do think that loss is related to his politics. ¶ 7:36 AM
So, on to the film. Hmmmm...Hmmmm...Hmmmm. I don't suppose I can keep doing this for a whole entry, huh? Well, I guess I could start off by saying M/F was, uh, very Godardian. I mean there wasn't a lot of plot, not even really much of a story. M/F announced in an opening title that it was going to present fifteen precise facts and there did appear to be about fifteen episodes to the film, although I can't really say if they were either precise or factual. There were proclamations, slogans, non-sequiturs, word play, eccentric behavior, and long conversations about politics and\or nothing in particular.
Jean-Pierre Leaud plays Paul, a Frenchman in his early twenties who has recently finished his military service. Paul is in Paris now, looking for something to do. He meets Madeleine (Chantal Goya) and starts working for the same magazine as her, doing interviews. Paul pursues Madeleine, who is pursuing a pop-singing career. He is something of a radical: he appears to be a member of the Communist party and, in one memorable scene, spray paints anti-Vietnam war slogans on the car of an American military official. These political scenes are intercut with other scenes that are typically Godardian in that they are like shabby parodies of American film noir. For example, at the beginning of the film, a man, played by Godard himself, is shot to death outside of a bistro by his wife. Later, a man in an amusement parlor pulls a knife on Paul, but then stabs himself in the chest.
M/F didn't quite work for me. I wasn't bored or irritated by it, but it didn't interest me either. One scene summed up the film for me: Paul is interviewing Mademoiselle 19, a young woman that appears to have won a beauty or modeling contest. He asks her personal questions about sex and politics in a condescending, hectoring tone. Paul comes off like a humorless jerk, while Mlle. 19 manages to hold on to her dignity and charm. M/F felt like a fight between Godard's humorous, playful side and his solemn political side, with politics taking the day. I don't have a problem with political film-making, it's just that when Godard starts to lecture on politics through the mouths of his characters, I start to feel very suspicious of him. His Marxist, anti-American lectures are so bullying that he starts to seem like someone who, if given his way, would make the world worse, not better. Indeed, the manner in which he places his political discourses is very telling. When talking about politics his actors appear to be nothing more than puppets repeating slogans that he has put in their mouths. At these moments, Godard loses a lot of humanity as a film-maker, and I do think that loss is related to his politics. ¶ 7:36 AM
