Le petit soldat (1960, 1963): the film. Set in neutral Switzerland during the Algerian War (Algerian Revolution, or Guerre d'Algérie, 1954-1962), the film revolves around two people, one played by Michel Subor and the other by Anna Karina, caught in the middle of a shadow war that includes secret identities, targeted assassinations and torture.
Some lines that stick out (in sub-titled translation from the orginal French):
"Photography is the truth, and cinema is the truth twenty-four times per second."
"It's not important how others see you, but how you see your own face."
"Asking questions is more important than finding answers."
"It's strange -- when I look myself in the face, I get the feeling I don't match what I think is inside."
"I win or lose, but fight on alone."
"You look at me but don't know what I'm thinking -- and never will know what I'm thinking."
Le petit soldat is completely topical in 2011, with many flashes of technical brilliance worth seeing in any event. Let's not forget Anna Karina, who is more severe here than in Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux (1962), another Godard film discussed in an earlier post late last month. Also worth mentioning: it's another black and white film, with dazzling cinematography by Raoul Coutard.
Le Petit Soldat was banned just as Henri Alleg's book La Question (1958) had been banned for the same reason: exposure of torture.
Certain things are always wrong -- slavery, torture of prisoners, violence against the powerless. But even still in 2011, we need to shout it from the rooftops.
Today's Rune: Partnership.
5 comments:
I've liked Godard over the decades, but am ashamed I have not seen enough of his films. Heh. Surely, he must say the same for me. :)
There are certainly some starling points to ponder in some of the dialogues Le Petit Soldat, like
"It's not important how others see you, but how you see your own face."
Wow.
W.S. Maugham says the same thing somewhere about eighty years ago, but in a more Maudlin way.
Godard is, alway was, more striking.
Like back in the Sixties, Dylan and his motorcyle accident then.
"Dylan is wonderful, but now he's kind of broken..."
Well Dylan is still kind of broken and he himself admits that it's getting harder and harder to write songs now.
And I myself can hardly get past typing exercises.
On my netflix queue.
I kept thinking where have I heard that name from, completely forgot there is a school named after him.
Erik, as women get older, we finally care less about how the face looks in the mirror. That change is inevitable!
Hey, thanks all for the comments! Ivan, I'd buy you a drink right now if I could! I'm with you -- cheers. AD, that would be cool, but more likely synchronicity. Jodi, same goes for men, doesn't it? Perhaps not.
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