Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Goodbye to Language (Adieu au langage - 2014)

The latest picture from revered 84-year-old director/writer Jean-Luc Godard also bids adieu to plot and structure. Jack and I were puzzled. Twice two people walk away from each other, and one appears in the right eye of the 3D glasses and the other in the left. Interesting, but not comfortable. I was tired that evening and was already having trouble focusing on the 3D. At that point I began from time to time closing each eye alternately.

As we walked into the special screening we were handed A.O Scott's review from The New York Times. It said the dog (Godard's own) would figure prominently. It didn't.

Reading through Godard's credits (his 38 wins and 39 nominations include an honorary Oscar in 2011) I thought I would know more than just Breathless (1960) and Masculin Féminin (1966) but it appears I have Godard mixed up with François Truffaut, who wrote the former and worked many times with Jean-Pierre Léaud, who starred in the latter. It looks like Godard said goodbye to traditional linear storytelling a long time ago. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This just wasn't our tasse de thé, which puts us in agreement with Rotten Tomatoes' audiences at 51%, rather than its critics at 84.

In two weeks this movie will be released on 3D Blu-ray DVDs. If you possess the hardware, have at it.

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