Le Mépris (Contempt) (1962) directed by Jean-Luc GodardIf I had my sweetheart, that sunshine in my life, the dimple of my smile, the color of my eye, the sugar in my coffee, the apple of my tree, that song of my bluejay, the herb for my tea, thanks to her mother's fruit, and her father's vanilla twinky, I would take my darling bubblegum to watch this depressing film with me. Oh and that was a compliment for the film, for sure. You will know exactly what not to do about love after you watch this film. You will walk out of the room speechless, almost giving up on your faith towards that special little someone, out-there, to give you that perfect, symmetrical smile to change your life.
The story deals with a French playwright, Paul, who is married to the beautiful and tender Camille. Paul becomes involved with the movie industry and meets a rich American producer by the name of Prokosch. The famous movie director, Fritz Lang (as himself), was originally offered to work for the producer in hopes to create a retelling of Homer's great epic story, The Odyssey. Not too happy with Lang's interpretation, Prokosch turns to Paul and hires him to rewrite the script, offering Paul a gamble. The financially rich and perverse Prokosch begins to admire Camille, and tells Paul either to give up his wife to get paid for the job, or lose the job and keep her. Paul, knowing that he wants to keep his flat with his wife, accepts the monetary offer to literally give his wife to the sick producer, until he regrets the downfall of what was once a loving relationship.
You must have patience to sit through the film. There is a very long 45-minute sequence inside of the apartment of argument and discussion between the husband and his wife, but the camera movements are seemless. Most of the time they are trying to understand each other. I noticed when situations are warped because of that emotional bond, emotions distract that reasonable state of mind. That is, when two people are thoughtful by their emotions, they get cloudy to each other, and they leave no room for making the right choices. Paul kept on trying to let Camille express her sudden change towards him, but unfortunately she had been keeping her concerns to herself, letting her husband admit what he did wrong earlier in the day. You can feel her heartbreak, her faith crumbling down on her from one minute to the next, from pure happiness to melancholic distress.
The movie is extremely sad and depressing. You feel for the characters' pain and suffering. The dialogue is subtle but well-written and extensive. The arguments between the couple are disturbing, although not explicitly, since the viewer can feel the deterioration becoming heavier and heavier, as Paul urges her to say why she changed. When she decides to tell him, the change to revive their love was too late.
I can only sigh after writing this. Just to remember the film gets me sad to think I might be lonely for the rest of my life. Being responsible for your love to someone is difficult, and sometimes we want to escape from it because we don't want to be held responsible for whatever decision we make. Yet since we are people, there is always a second chance depending on how harmless the effects of the decision are. In Paul's case, what he did was unforgivable, yet it was also the clarity of the situation to each other that might have made the movie end on a lighter note.
To brighten up this post, here is a song by the Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto.
The story deals with a French playwright, Paul, who is married to the beautiful and tender Camille. Paul becomes involved with the movie industry and meets a rich American producer by the name of Prokosch. The famous movie director, Fritz Lang (as himself), was originally offered to work for the producer in hopes to create a retelling of Homer's great epic story, The Odyssey. Not too happy with Lang's interpretation, Prokosch turns to Paul and hires him to rewrite the script, offering Paul a gamble. The financially rich and perverse Prokosch begins to admire Camille, and tells Paul either to give up his wife to get paid for the job, or lose the job and keep her. Paul, knowing that he wants to keep his flat with his wife, accepts the monetary offer to literally give his wife to the sick producer, until he regrets the downfall of what was once a loving relationship.
You must have patience to sit through the film. There is a very long 45-minute sequence inside of the apartment of argument and discussion between the husband and his wife, but the camera movements are seemless. Most of the time they are trying to understand each other. I noticed when situations are warped because of that emotional bond, emotions distract that reasonable state of mind. That is, when two people are thoughtful by their emotions, they get cloudy to each other, and they leave no room for making the right choices. Paul kept on trying to let Camille express her sudden change towards him, but unfortunately she had been keeping her concerns to herself, letting her husband admit what he did wrong earlier in the day. You can feel her heartbreak, her faith crumbling down on her from one minute to the next, from pure happiness to melancholic distress.
The movie is extremely sad and depressing. You feel for the characters' pain and suffering. The dialogue is subtle but well-written and extensive. The arguments between the couple are disturbing, although not explicitly, since the viewer can feel the deterioration becoming heavier and heavier, as Paul urges her to say why she changed. When she decides to tell him, the change to revive their love was too late.
I can only sigh after writing this. Just to remember the film gets me sad to think I might be lonely for the rest of my life. Being responsible for your love to someone is difficult, and sometimes we want to escape from it because we don't want to be held responsible for whatever decision we make. Yet since we are people, there is always a second chance depending on how harmless the effects of the decision are. In Paul's case, what he did was unforgivable, yet it was also the clarity of the situation to each other that might have made the movie end on a lighter note.
To brighten up this post, here is a song by the Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto.
Goodbye Sadness (Tristeza)
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