"Contempt" Godard's most beautiful and heartbreaking love story

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2023.11.01Soma studies

The sadness of a useless man who has lost his sense of self

Michel Piccoli, who played the main character Paul, was also a rising star in the field of film noir . He had co-starred with Jean-Paul Belmondo, who had made his breakthrough with Breathless, in Inu (1962) the previous year. However, the Paul that Piccoli plays in Contempt has nothing to do with the nihilistic coolness of the protagonist that Belmondo played in Pierrot the Fool Fou.

The seemingly good relationship between Paul and Camille begins to show cracks after they meet Jeremy at work. Paul currys favor with Jeremy and shows affection for his female assistant. Camille is disillusioned with his lack of initiative and is in a bad mood. At this point, there is still a Being There to win back their love. However, for about 30 minutes in the middle of the film, after they return home, Paul and Camille are arguing, and the situation gets worse and worse as their verbal exchanges pile up.

To put it simply, Paul is a loser here. When Camille tries to approach him, he can't find a clever response, and just works silently typing away at his typewriter. At some point, there was a chance to repair their relationship. However, only the audience, who is watching them from a bird's-eye view, can think of it. At this time, Godard's marriage to actress Anna Karina, with whom he starred in " A Woman is a Woman " (1961), was apparently at a dead end, and it is said that he projected himself onto the original novel by Alberto Moravia in this film.

Godard's film philosophy engraved with homage to the master

It is not only Godard's view of love that is projected onto this film. His attitude towards filmmaking is also the same. In the film, a film is being made based on the ancient Greek epic poem "The Odyssey", but producer Jeremy does not like this art-oriented film. After seeing the rushes, the only scene he likes is the one where the actress is swimming naked. What he wants from this film is sex. Sexy films make money. Paul is hired as a screenwriter to turn it into such a work.

The film director who troubles Gerard is played by the German master Fritz Lang, who appears as himself. After making masterpieces such as " Doctor Mabuse " (1922), " Metropolis " (26), and " M " (31) in his home country, the legend fled to Hollywood to avoid the rise of the Nazis and continued to make films. In the 1960s, he was semi-retired, but he was loved by the talented people of the Nouvelle Vague at the time, and he appeared in this film at Godard's request. Incidentally, Godard also appears in the film as Lang's assistant director.

Lang's character in the film reflects Godard's film philosophy. He discusses art by quoting Dante's poetry, has a strong artistic vision, and hates compromise. Needless to say, he is at odds with Jeremy's commercialism. In contrast to the arrogant and haughty Jeremy, the director is gentlemanly and subtly considerate of the lost Paul and Camille. He is, so to speak, the conscience of the film.

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