Last month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences phoned Jean-Luc Godard to tell him that he would receive an Honorary Oscar at their November 13 Governors Awards event. Characteristically, the French film director (who's been known to scoff at Hollywood before) seemed not to care — so much, in fact, that he didn't return their phone call. Vanity Fair filed a "missing persons flyer" asking anyone to help locate him, and countless blogs reported that the "enfant terrible" of New Wave cinema was nowhere to be found…
In early September, the Academy received a hand-written thank you note saying Godard would make it if he could. The gesture is in true Godard fashion. The director began his career as a critic for Cahiers du cinéma, and has continually approached Hollywood, filmmaking, and it seems life in general from a critical and often harsh perspective. He's not exactly the most well liked person in the world — he's been derisively called a leftist, Marxist, misogynist, and even an anti-Semite. But his works have had an unquestionably significant influence on 20th and 21st century film.
From a design perspective, one of the most interesting things about his cinematic style is his use of color (or contrast when he's shooting in black and white), space, and form. His black and white films have a strong sense of balance and composition — even in the most mundane interior shots, like the famous scene in the 1960 film, Breathless, where Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo smoke and fool around in a tiny, messy Paris apartment. In his color films, red, blue, and yellow figure prominently, also used in high contrast.
Godard understood the beauty of daily life and "wasted" moments, and he used long, continuous interior shots to illustrate the complex and subtle nature of male-female relationships. Perhaps his most famous apartment scene occurs in Contempt (1963), between Brigitte Bardot and Michel Piccoli. The couple seems to slowly deteriorate, as they circle from room to room, moving from couch to bed to dining table. Likewise, the camera follows them through doors and hallways, recording each mundane movement with the weight and significance that most directors attach to heated dialogue.
Any of his films — but in particular, those from the 1960s — are worth watching for their inspiring design and use of color.
SELECT GODARD FILMS TO WATCH FOR STYLE INSPIRATION
• Breathless | A bout de souffle (1960)
• A Woman Is A Woman | Une femme est une femme (1961)
• My Life to Live | Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux (1962)
• Contempt | Le mépris (1963)
• Alphaville | Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
• Pierrot le fou (1965)
• Masculin Féminin | Masculine Feminine (1965)
• Made in U.S.A (1966)
• 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her | 2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle (1967)
• La chinoise (1967)
• Week End (1967)
This is a brief account of Godard that doesn't touch much on the interesting details of his biography, which you can read more of here. To learn more about Jean-Luc Godard and his films, check out the interview shown above, his filmography, and the following resource links.
SOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION
• Jean-Luc Godard | The Criterion Collection
• Jean-Luc Godard | IMDB
• Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard | Richard Brody
• Jean-Luc Godard Bio | British Film Institute
• Help the Motion Picture Association Find Jean-Luc Godard! | Vanity Fair
• Statement regarding Jean-Luc Godard’s Reply | The Academy of Motion Picture Arts
OTHER STYLE ICONS
• Grace Kelly
• Jarvis Cocker
• Mark Twain
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
• Ernest Hemingway
Images: Jean-Luc Godard photo via Alpharrabio (1), Jean-Luc Godard Festival Poster on eBay (2), Screenshot from "Breathless" via Ninja Vintage (3), Screenshot from "2 or 3 Things I Know About Her" via Three Imaginary Girls (4), Screenshot from "Contempt" via movieimagestripod (5), Screenshot from "Pierrot le fou" via Romance in the Picture (6), Screenshot from "Alphaville" via Film Reference (7), Screenshot from "La Chinoise" via Medfly Quarantine (8), Still from "Une femme est une femme" via IMDB (9), Screenshot from Weekend via Medfly Quarantine (10)
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El mejor! me extrañaría mucho si le hubiese besado el culo a Hollywood por un galardón.
bravo, Godard!
I enjoyed this post, but... "He's not exactly the most likable person — he's been called a leftist, Marxist, misogynist, and even an anti-Semite." He's been called a leftist! Well, duh. And how exactly does that make him hard to like? I would certainly dispute that "Marxists" are per se unlikable (and Godard was certainly interested in Marx, as were most cultural producers at the time), but I guess some reasonable people might disagree. But if you think that even "leftist" is in the same category as "misogynist" or "anti-semitic", that's just sad. Trying to stay away from anything manifestly political (which is hard to do when writing about Godard, I guess) apparently sometimes just lays bare people's prejudices.
Come on AT. Other commentators have already touched on this, but since when are "leftists" and "Marxists" lumped in with "misogynists" and "anti-Semites" in terms of unlikability? What's next, a post about the decor of Glenn Beck's set? And as long as we're on the subject, since when are misogynists and anti-Semites merely "unlikable," the way someone with poor table manners or dull wit might be?
Oh, and Ansela, I think it is quite possible that your experience with leftists says more about you and the sort of people you meet than it does about an entire section of the political spectrum. Your willingness to vaguely cite some pro-religious "studies" about happiness to support your argument makes me wonder what sort of education you received, as does your reliance on cliches and platitudes. It is at the very least possible that the leftists you've been coming into contact with are simply your intellectual peers. There are others above and below them in terms of happiness, intellect, and everything else. Just the way there are in all large categories of people. Generalizations aren't necessary and are best avoided.
Thanks for the comments. I added a link to clarify that these are things that were said of Godard (link to biography / review that cites them) and slightly reworded the phrasing to clarify the main point of the sentence: lots of people strongly disliked Godard for lots of different reasons.
Why do comment sections always turn into politically charged barroom fights? Don't get it.
Godard's stylization is timely and timeless. He did exactly what most filmmakers and photographers attempt to do: amplify life and bring out the color and madness.
A more modern nod to the French New Wave is the bizarre 2001 film CQ. If you like the aesthetic, this is a fun nod/homage. Plus Jason Schwarzman's in it.
love this man.