(no subject)
Notre Musique (Godard, 2004) (8/10)
A challenging film which with a little work proved quite rewarding. Godard's use of narrative is endlessly fascinating here. It hits and misses but ultimately prevails due to the concept and structure of Notre Musique. Hell is base and brutal. Godard mixes film clips with real war images and creates a short montage of blurred brutality. It doesn't really shock the audience, which is a hard thing to do nowadays, but it does get its point across before we arrive at Purgatory. Purgatory plays like an hour long tour where one wishes he could be somewhere else. Which makes sense. Purgatory feels empty. Godard lingers on shots long after characters have left the frame. He shows crumbling archetecture, raises interesting questions regarding perspective and image, and often questions the nature of filmmaking itself. He shows snipets of reality, directly bringing to our minds the concept of film editing. The conversations seem somewhat random, and really, for most of them, it doesn't matter 100% what they are saying. They raise interesting points, but, like the theme of Godard's second act, the converstions feel empty and meaningless when seen in the context of everything else. A few really hit home though, such as the girl contemplating suicide. The final act is fairly beautiful. This is one of those films where my mind is reeling the entire time. When I can trust in the director, which I feel I can with Godard, I love trying to unlock meaning. Especially when the narrative is as unconventional as Godards. I wrote this really quick and on the spot, sorry if it makes no sense. Notre Musique was a very exciting film to see, though I don't know if everyone would enjoy it as much as I did.
A challenging film which with a little work proved quite rewarding. Godard's use of narrative is endlessly fascinating here. It hits and misses but ultimately prevails due to the concept and structure of Notre Musique. Hell is base and brutal. Godard mixes film clips with real war images and creates a short montage of blurred brutality. It doesn't really shock the audience, which is a hard thing to do nowadays, but it does get its point across before we arrive at Purgatory. Purgatory plays like an hour long tour where one wishes he could be somewhere else. Which makes sense. Purgatory feels empty. Godard lingers on shots long after characters have left the frame. He shows crumbling archetecture, raises interesting questions regarding perspective and image, and often questions the nature of filmmaking itself. He shows snipets of reality, directly bringing to our minds the concept of film editing. The conversations seem somewhat random, and really, for most of them, it doesn't matter 100% what they are saying. They raise interesting points, but, like the theme of Godard's second act, the converstions feel empty and meaningless when seen in the context of everything else. A few really hit home though, such as the girl contemplating suicide. The final act is fairly beautiful. This is one of those films where my mind is reeling the entire time. When I can trust in the director, which I feel I can with Godard, I love trying to unlock meaning. Especially when the narrative is as unconventional as Godards. I wrote this really quick and on the spot, sorry if it makes no sense. Notre Musique was a very exciting film to see, though I don't know if everyone would enjoy it as much as I did.