Steve Pulaskie's negative review of "Film Socialisme" inadvertently, by its very length and detail, betrays the fascination a good Godard can exert even on the "unimpressed." I'll let the positive reviews -- not all of which I have read -- speak to my own liking for this film. I need to see it more times, especially after my French is more fluent than it is. But my take is that "Film Socialisme" is meant to provoke thought and questions, not answer them ... notwithstanding one can pick up a good notion of where Godard is coming from. But -- to echo any other reviews that have said the same -- "Film Socialisme" should NEVER be anyone's introduction to Godard! Whether or not it's really his last film, it comes 50+ years after his first films blew up the way everyone made movies ... and, yes, they even have plots. I have seen only a few of them, but am buying up more. The main IMDb web-page features a number of fans listing their top Godards; I refer newbies to them. By all means see "A bout de soufflé," "Une femme est une femme," "Alphaville," "Pierrot le Fou," "Band of Outsiders," and maybe "Weekend" -- and only then try "Film Socialisme." But this last film shows me Godard hasn't lost a thing he started with. He still has all his outrageous playful inventiveness, exuberant effrontery: he still makes a movie MOVE; this film is more CINEMA than the most CINEMA flick he ever tossed off. See the early ones -- on which his rep will always rest -- then re-see this one. Whether you like "Film Socialisme" or not, you'll know what I mean.
Review of Film socialisme
Film socialisme
(2010)
Film Socialisme, Wonderful As It Is, Should Not Be Anyone's First Godard
27 September 2013