Jean Luc-Godard has quickly and easily become one of my favourite directors. A remarkable artist whose films were ahead of their time. Godard is one of the most recognizable names from the French New Wave, and for good reason his films have a striking personality to them, they're timeless and have inspired countless filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino. He's gotten a lot of praise and I think he deserves every bit of it. He's a bold filmmaker who has a consistent filmography and has revolutionized cinema by experimenting with so many rules, coming up with crazy fun films to watch that also deeply connect with a lot of people, like me. He's known for a lot of thins, of course the experimental editing, notably seen in Breathless. His use of match-cuts went against the norm, but worked perfectly.
He experimented with a lot of other stuff as well, like random uses and cutting off of music, randomly changing colours in a shot and other arbitrary techniques that could be disorienting but instead give his films a unique energy. People constantly talk about vibes or atmosphere on this app, and Godard is literally the king of vibes, he perfectly complements style and substance, a Godard character is instantly recognizable as a Godard character but he also spends time writing them well. One thing you notice from his films is a fascination towards the portrayal of modern youth and love, these are two themes that span most of his films, he talks about their existential problems and pretty much perfects the coming of age genre. And Godard's takes on love would require their own post, let's leave it at that. Oh and special mention to both Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo, two actors that appear multiple times in his films and always give amazing performances.
I also love, love the way he breaks the 4th wall, it's not just cheeky, he does it for a reason. Like Wes Anderson he doesn't mind the fact that the audience knows they're watching the movie, instead he embraces it, and instead of trying hard to keep a suspension of disbelief, he uses subtext to continue telling rich stories. His films and especially his characters have an eccentric quality to them, a little whimsy sometimes, and a little bizarre sometimes. He also loves letting conversations play for as long as they can, which is something that influenced Tarantino. And personally, it never got boring. Godard also plays with the theme of doomed romances a lot, especially in Breathless and Pierrot Le Fou. It's always fresh and interesting every time he does it. And no spoilers but let's just say he KNOWS how to craft a heartbreaking, soul crushing ending. His endings are simply unforgettable. So yeah, I love this man, let me know what your favourite Godard film is. If you want. My favourite Godard films are - Pierrot Le Fou, Masculin Feminin, Breathless, Vivre Sa Vie and A Woman is a Woman
By @starwards1
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