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Film Socialisme (2010)

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

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From Time Out London

Regular readers will know that with every film review we print a director’s name, country of origin (which often determines the language of the film), certificate, run time and star rating. At least three of those facts lose all relevance when confronted with ‘Film Socialisme’, a mischievous avant-garde triptych from cinema’s premier, stogie-chomping provocateur, Jean-Luc Godard.

First, while it’s unmistakably ‘un film de JLG’, whether he ‘directed’ it in the traditional sense is debatable. With its scuzzed-up documentary inserts, punning intertitles, obscure film and literature citations and cryptic dramatic stand-offs, it feels like a work devised, sculpted or extracted from a dream rather than directed. As for the country of origin, the ‘action’ takes place on a cruise ship and in a petrol station. Those involved in the film (we hesitate to call them characters) converse in a variety of tongues and include philosopher Alain Badiou and punk chanteuse Patti Smith. Dialogue is subtitled in ‘Navajo English’ and reads like garbled staccato beat poetry or the usual Godardian sloganeering.

The alienating qualities of language have been staples in Godard’s work, and what better way to express that than a film which borders on the incomprehensible? Elements of the film take on a more profound meaning when viewed in the context of Godard’s career, such as the use of bold primary colours or the meshing of film stocks. It’s also, as the title hints, a screed against anyone or anything (class, money, art, age, ethnicity) blocking the realisation of a socialist nirvana.

And it makes a mockery of the star-rating system. How to judge a film on those terms when there’s nothing to judge it against? For the uninitiated, consume it as a passionate flurry of visual and aural experiments – enjoy the compositions, textures, shapes, colours and juxtapositions rather than search in vain for meaning – and you’ll be just fine.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 2133: July 7 - 13, 2011

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User reviews of this film

Jack Sebastian said...

Posted on Jul 14 2011 10:16 Look at the idiotic comment on the right of this page. "He's never exactly been Spielberg." Does anyone ever say of Spielberg "He's never exactly been Godard"? No. Why? Because you'd be a moron to do so. Celebrate the difference between Spielberg and Godard as a mark of the flexibility of expression still available in cinema. Tolstoyhas never exactly been Jeffrey Archer though has he? But he is good with dialogue...

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This has made my day. I w said...

Posted on Jul 13 2011 16:41 This has made my day. I wish all postigns were this good.

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Jack Sebastian said...

Posted on Jul 06 2011 12:19 What the hell is the problem 'critics' have in this country with anything that challenges their lazy preconceptions about cinema? It's as though they're affronted by anyone who dares to create something that can't easily be explained or understood, as though this is automatically something to express hostility towards.
David Jenkins complains about Film Socialisme making a mockery of the star rating system - that would be good as the star rating system is deserving of mockery as is the soft and flabby intellectual standard of film criticism in this country,
My suggestion would be do something other than look at movies or regurgitate accepted wisdom about cinema. Try reading some of the classics for example or even spend some time away from digital technology and simply reflect without the false stimulation of i-pads for example.

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Gort said...

Posted on Jul 05 2011 19:36 Yeah one of the reasons I like(d) Time Out is because it's critics didn't use stars they rather explain it with words but in last few years you introduced them... why?!

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