Is it OK to joke about Godard? Jean-Luc Godard, the renowned filmmaker who was one of the instigators of the French nouvelle vague in the 1960s. Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) had him played by Louis Garrel in his Godard biopic Le Redoutable. An ode, yes, but made with guts and, to my great relief, also liberating irony and brilliant tragicomedy liberated. There is even a slapstick-like running gag that is too much fun to give away. But it seems some hardliners think otherwise. For them, making a film about Godard is in itself a form of sacrilege.
Le Redoutable - in cinemas from this week - could well be one of the most talked about films of 2018 in cinephile circles. Or should be. What a great way to mark the commemoration of the illustrious year of revolution 1968. Hazanavicius also situates his story around that time. Godard's first films, including À bout de souffle and Vivre sa vie have won him many admirers. Now we see him struggling with his turnaround from celebrated filmmaker to activist Maoist. And with the relationship he now has with his new muse Anne Wiazemsky (Stacy Martin), the actress from the newly completed La Chinoise. This ode to revolution was poorly received at the time. Now part of the small but highly recommended programme of restored Godard titles at EYE. How do we watch it now?
Gaze in love
Yes, in some ways Le Redoutable the freedom to let Godard fall off his pedestal a bit. But isn't that the best way to pay tribute to someone who was always willing to question everything. Incidentally, Hazanavicius does not want to call his film a biography. According to him, it is a mixture of one part admiration (Garrel's eerily good role), one part based on Anne Wiazemsky's book, and one part fantasy by Hazanavicius himself. A love story he calls it. The relationship with Wiazemsky is the driving force. Moving and tragic to see how that mutual fire inevitably dies out.
When previewing Vivre sa vie I saw with how much loving admiration Godard portrays the actress Anna Karina in it. He was married to her from 1959 to 1965. Here, she plays a saleswoman and would-be actress who descends into prostitution. But he combines that infatuated look with a slightly formalistic approach, like dialogues that seem to comment on themselves at the same time. As if he is exploring the possibilities offered to him by the camera and actors on the spot. A romantic and revolutionary.
Difficult genius
Although Le Redoutable regularly inserts such typical Godard traits, such as the homage to Dreyer's Joan of Arc, it is not meant to be a collection of quotes.
We do see Godard emerging as a revolutionary philosopher with an almost self-destructive tendency to criticise and reinvent cinema. There is also something tragic about it, as he appears to have a talent for antagonising others in particular. Even when he is invited to speak at a student protest rally. It was not easy to love Godard. Even many fans had to acknowledge that in later years when his films became quite dramatic.
Even in his early years, he was in the gang of the nouvelle vague (including François Truffaut) already a loner, and that has never changed. Those who by now have seen Agnes Varda's wonderful documentary Visages Villages saw recalled the poignant scene in which Varda looks up her old friend Godard. The difficult genius became a recluse. Before Hazanavicius started shooting Le Redoutable began, he sent Godard a letter. No reply. Later, Godard relayed through someone else that he did not want to see the film.
Good to knowLe Redoutable runs from 18 January in cinemas.
From the same date Vivre sa vie and Le Mépris on show at EYE and film theatres. In addition, only at EYE, three more Godards from the 1960s, the time when he made his most sprightly and playful work: La Chinoise, Masculin féminin and Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'elle.
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