Fwd from the Godard List

From: Ed Grant <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Notre Musique at NYFF



It's been posted elsewhere that the film was shown on Sunday afternoon
in the wrong ratio--I will confess I had no idea, it looked fine to me.
On the subject of content, I'll note it's as brilliant as any of JLG's
work, and requires more than one viewing--the opening montage is a
masterstroke but shorter than I thought it was going to be, and the coda
in a U.S. occupied "Heaven" is pretty brief, from what I'd come to
expect in reviews (less than 10 minutes?).

The presenter for the NYFF noted it was "the most lucid film Godard has
made in years." Found this interesting, as I don't think any of Godard's
films since the 1980s are the kinds of things you could introduce a
neophyte to (I'd opt for "Sauve Qui Peut" and "Prenom: Carmen" as the
last good "intros" to his style for the uninitiated). The film is simply
too dense, contains too many of his now-standard quotes from
unidentified literary works, and follows a sort of dream-logic that will
not be clear to the average viewer. Since this is the day and age when
no one ever plans on seeing a film for a second time when they're first
viewing it (despite the fact that more people seem to be buying DVDs
than renting 'em these days), I don't think that the average viewer
looking for a "political" film, a "French" film, or a drama will be
drawn into "Notre Musique." "Eloge" had some strident political remarks
about the U.S. and history, also some gorgeous b&w and digital-vid
visuals--this is a more formal work that is a wonder to contemplate but
wouldn't engage someone who hasn't been keeping up with post-"comeback"
JLG. Just my opinion...

That said, the film is a treasure trove for the Godard initiates as
could be expected: he revives various lines (the joke about a dead
bee--which the presenter underlined without seemingly noting it comes
from "To Have and Have Not"), continues his treatment of modern Europe
and the political systems that have resulted in seemingly unending war,
without going too far into the male/female dynamic that has been one of
his major concerns since the beginning.

The actress Sarah Adler was on hand to answer questions after the
screening, but admitted she didn't fully understand the film herself.
The questions were fairly decent (preparation? a few books from Godard
on a poet who becomes a character in the film, but she mostly did her
own prep-work), but it seemed as if she didn't really have that much to
offer in the way of illuminating Uncle Jean's method. The most
interesting thing she revealed, for those who don't mind a "spoiler"
(how can you have a spoiler in a Godard feature?) is that the voice
heard over the final "Heaven" section isn't hers--it's the actress who
plays "Olga." Olga, I should explain is a smaller character who in fact
turns out to be pivotally important--I should also note that we're
seeing Sarah Adler walk through "Heaven" at the end and she had in fact
narrated previous sections of the film (her most interesting note was
describing going to Switzerland to do the voiceovers). For those who
want an easy aide-memoire--to be honest, I consider myself a fairly
"awake" and conscious viewer, and I lost track of the female
characters--Olga is the girl who is first seen when we go to Purgatory
(Sarajevo) wearing really tacky socks (no joke) which we get a clear
shot of as she walks over to Uncle Jean.

My favorite scenes without question: Godard's bits of a film class he's
teaching. According to Adler, these were recreations of a real cultural
conference that did take place in Sarajevo, but at an earlier time.

Ed

P.S. Fave auteurist touch: a bit of "Kiss Me Deadly"'s conclusion in his
war montage!

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