Communism and Godard

[lemmycaution]

Has anyone see the 1967 'Week-end' by jean-Luc Godard? it was universally hated by the DeGaulle backed film critics but later hailed as one of his greatest works. this film, essentially an 'anti-consumerism' film, was shot before the student riots of Paris on the First of May, 1968. according to me, week-end is as good as 'Battleship Potemkin' by Eisenstein...comments anyone?

[tambourine_man]

one month later...

yes, i watched week-end recently
such a bizarre and interesting film, very good critique of consumerism and commodity life.
have you seen pierrot le fou? that is also a very good film by godard illustrating the hypocrisy of bourgeois society.
i'm not so sure that either is as good as "battleship potemkin" though...that is truly a classic. and, when i am in an arrogant sort of mood, i tend to be sympathetic to the situationist critique that (i don't remember the exact quote) "godardian film is the last and most serious resort of the bourgeois to prevent situationist use of the cinema." (he was a maoist, afterall...) his criticisms sometimes seem to lack innovation...
in any case, godard's films always keep me interested, whether or not that is a good thing.
since you seem to be interesting in the same sorts of films as me, mind recommending some (political or not)? thanks!

[Jimmie Higgins]

I think "interesting" is the best way to describe Godard movies. I have to be in the right mood, but every film of his I have seen have been politically challenging (if I agree with what he seems to be saying or not) and visually and cinematically excellent.

I recently saw "Tu va bien" (I don't know french, so it comes out like spanish when I try to write it). Anyway, it's the one with Jane Fonda and is also about '68 and a strike in a factory (workers occupying the factory). THe factory scenes are definately the strongest in the movie and he has a whole mock factory-set built so that the camera can pan back and show all the rooms upstairs and downstairs at once (like in "Life Aquatic") like a diarama.

My favorite bit was when the boss (who is locked in his office) tells his workers/captors that he needs to go to the bathroom and they tell him that he has to go the same way that the workers are forced to when they are working. This means he only has 1 minute to do his "business". But when the boss goes to use the toilet, there is a workers sitting in the executive bathroom singing "the Internationale". The boss runs down to all the other bathrooms, but there too, the doors are locked and workers sit on the pots singing the revolutionary anthem.

Now I spend a large chunk of my work day day-dreaming about doing that to my boss!