"The ceiling hangs from the lamp." What's sticking with me now from Godard's Made in USA (1966) are shot compositions -- like one of a taxi arriving in Dutch or Batman angle -- and several interior scenes.
Also, the universal referents, still apllicable. Let's take some of the observations made by Typhus (Uncle Edgar, played by Ernest Menzer) to Paula Nelson (Anna Karina):
The Moroccan War made you a bit mean . . . Wars are never over. Trafalgar, Sedan, Chemin des Dames, Mers-el-Kébir, Leningrad, Okinawa, Berlin, Hanoi. The name changes, but it's always the same, as you can see.
There are tons of quips to chew over, such as "Fascism [is] the dollar of ethics." Ms. Nelson: "Politics. Money. How can I not feel like puking?" This is repeated later in the film.
In a long taxi ride, Philippe Labro and Anna Karina discuss the Left and Right in modern societies.
"It's always blood, fear, politics, money. How can I not feel like puking?" (Anna Karina's Ms. Nelson, reiterating her earlier observation).
There's no changing them! The Right because it's so cruel and brainless, the Left because it's sentimental. Besides, Left and Right are completely obsolete notions. We shouldn't phrase things in those terms. How then?
Nearly fifty years later, we're still wondering.
Today's Rune: Defense.
1 comment:
I like your Godard posts.
Post a Comment