Review of Weekend by Godard

This might be Godard's best film. It is, perhaps, the most nonlinear of his films. The action mainly happens in the beginning of the film. Then it circles back and reveals it's meaning in the long monologues of the trash collectors. Finally, it makes a final conclusion with cannibals and guerrilla fighters. It is hard to make sense of this film. Is it an allegory for the France of 1968? Is it seeking to describe or depict the chaos and upheaval of those times? What does the film mean? What is it saying about the times it seeks to depict? Or about human nature in general? Or about post-colonialism? I, for one, enjoyed Godard's monologues inserted with the garbage collectors. I though, for it's time, or for contemporary times, rarely did a clear statement of the political philosophy of African or Arab nationalists get such a free forum in which their ideologies get a place for exposition.

The last bit about the cannabilists, I think, shows the chaos of the late sixties. In my documentary film class we watched the Maysles Stones documentary about the end of the Summer of love. And it seemed to me that this film was about the student protests of ' 68 that engulfed France and of which Godard was such a willing participant. This time was also when the decisive break with Truffaut came about. Truffauth wanted nothing to do with the student protest which were decidedly Marxist-Leninist. Godard on the other hand embraced the student movement and was one of their most ardent supporters. If my memory serves me correct he even supported the takeover of the Cinematique Francais to show more protest friendly works.

Perhaps the best part of this film is the long take of all the traffic stoppages. The death and carnage that is on the highway along the voyage to the female leads father's home is tres cool! tres super! I showed in my film class as part of a lesson about the long take. Of course this was before digital technology had allowed filmmakers to shoot for days without changing the reel. Now, filmmakers can shoot for hours without changing the reel. The shot was very innovative for it's time. I still watch it with aw.

The first time I watched this film I didn't get the last part with the cannibals. I checked out earlier and didn't remember the cannibals. Now, when I watched the film for a second time, I really see how the cannibals are an allegory for crazy people from the late 60's. I could see how the cannibal gang is similar to the manson gang who committed those ghastly murders in the late 60's. I'm not sure if Godard meant to allegorize that gang, but it comes pretty close to the heart of the extremes of that era.

This was a bounce back for Godard. It might have been, as Richard Brody stated in his book, Godard's high point. Of course there was Breathless, Weekend might have been his high point during the 60's when he was considered to be at his zenith of creative output. Yet, I've seen some of his later works and they have very few shortcoming too. Richard Brody has written about these films and truly they are not to be missed. I will blog about them in other posts.