Godard made this film when he was 50. I’m turning 50 this week. I love Godard’s movies from the 80s. Sure, I love Breathless, Le Mepris, Band of Outsiders, etc, his output in the 60s is legendary … but this film, is a kind of entertainment I could not get in American films of that period. I think mostly it’s due to that I lived in Northern NY growing up. These 80s Godard films had an edge to them that seemed dull in most American films. I was close to the Canadian border and my mom was a French teacher. I was aware of an existence that was not anything Northern, NY and was fascinated by it. I saw Band of Outsiders via a satellite dish in the 80s. It had an effect on me. It was the same age, sort of, of my parents’ 60s American experience, but was way cooler.
Getting to his 80s films in the 90s, close enough for them to be relatable and not that old. I’m no Godard expert or a film scholar, amateur or pro. I’ve read his biographies a long time ago; enough to not remember much, and watched almost all of his movies. Know enough about his life that he was kind of a jerk and flawed. Godard to me was an idealist and tried to portray that in his films. He was loved more by his films than as a person it seems. Almost as if what he showed on film was ok but words out of his mouth were (sometimes rightly) taken in a wrong way.
Anyways, I’m on a tangent. I just can relate in a way.
I have time off from work to relax. To ease into 50. Younger me would think this setup is cool. Watching Godard in an old school house. I’m going to enjoy Godard’s 80s films as a send off into the, hopefully, next 50. Maybe it will inspire me.
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