Jean-Luc Godard
Sympathy for the Devil
Godard’s love of words and semiology is manifested through the crafty titles and spray-painted slogans, but is most important when a black revolutionary explains how his group must refuse the traditional language of the white man to avoid oppression.
Alphaville
I particularly admire Godard’s use of sound and skillful editing to suggest the omnipresence of a villain that doesn’t actually exist.
Masculine Feminine
The film’s most revealing moment comes when Paul’s narration reveals that the movies they were going to see were out-of-touch. Paul’s political revolution can be seen as an analogue to Godard’s cinematic revolution.
Numéro deux
Numéro deux is a film that simultaneously explores parents and their children and the relationship between film and video. Film and video are different media, but video is almost always seen as an extension of film.
JLG/JLG: Self-Portrait in December
Godard’s “self-portrait” is unusually benevolent. Though it is consciously a film about an artist by an artist, it seems to function less like a portrait and more like a surprise snapshot of an artist who has estranged his audience.
Weekend
Godard uses this film as a critique of society. He acknowledges that the film is part of the society he is condemning, so he includes a title to certify that the film is “found on a trash heap.”
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
Godard, as the whispering narrator, represents the consciousness of the film. Godard’s words are matched with images of construction, calling the audience to take action.