tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post113651245953644881..comments2023-11-05T04:31:48.615-05:00Comments on Elusive Lucidity: Occupied & LiberatedZChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10211734319629732065noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-1137990704314114302006-01-22T23:31:00.000-05:002006-01-22T23:31:00.000-05:00Well, a friend who'd just seen and been blown away...Well, a friend who'd just seen and been blown away by <B>Contempt</B> for the first time came over the other day so I suggested we put on <B>Tout Va Bien</B>. Thanks for the encouragement, Zach & Adrian. It wasn't difficult at all, and we both loved it. It was an especially fun surprise to see the parody at the beginning of the film after discussing the greatness of <B>Contempt</B>.Brian Darrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693169310367670898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-1136955240852350552006-01-10T23:54:00.000-05:002006-01-10T23:54:00.000-05:00The supermarket scene had the greatest effect on m...The supermarket scene had the greatest effect on me--as Adrian notes, those tracking shots!--and it for me is what I immediately think of whenever <I>Tout va bien</I>, one of my favourite Godard films, comes up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-1136780476915932842006-01-08T23:21:00.000-05:002006-01-08T23:21:00.000-05:00Yes, the opening checks are an excellent device--I...Yes, the opening checks are an excellent device--I'd say this film has one of my favorite credits sequences.ZChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10211734319629732065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-1136764129977147252006-01-08T18:48:00.000-05:002006-01-08T18:48:00.000-05:00Trerrific post, Zach. TOUT VA BIEN is not at all a...Trerrific post, Zach. TOUT VA BIEN is not at all a difficult or inaccessible film; it was conceived almost as a 'commercial' movie! I saw it when I was 16, only my 2nd or 3rd Godard, and it made such a palpable impression tha certain images and sounds are forever imprinted on my consciousness: the frame with the dancing girls in the ad, the sound of their clomping shoes; the cheques being torn out in the credits; the lateral tracks (and their rolling sound) in the supermarket. Curiously enough, it's the one JLG that fits TV or video well, because of its square frame and its Brechtian aesthetic: I saw a 16mm print many times in the 70s, that suited it better than 35mm! I remember at 16 reading a SIGHT AND SOUND interview where Godard & Gorin explained that the film is structured as an allegory of society: first production (the factory strike), then distribution (the media careers of its stars), finally consumption (the supermarket). My first brush with allegory! You know that Gorin literally directed most of the film on set; Godard was mainly recovering from his bike accident during that time, although they had both planned the film very carefully, being a relatively elaborate production. Gorin in Australia in 1987 confessed the film is "so goddamned Brechtian it can make you sick", but maintained his fondness for it: "It may not be a great moving picture, but it has moves - and you can't say that about too many films". Something to contemplate!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-1136726726495603212006-01-08T08:25:00.000-05:002006-01-08T08:25:00.000-05:00What a double bill ... !Tout va bien isn't as diff...What a double bill ... !<BR/><BR/><I>Tout va bien</I> isn't as difficult as you might be led to believe--I was surprised to see that it's pretty accessible, surely for Godard of that period, and a lot of its virtues are upfront and obvious.ZChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10211734319629732065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10161060.post-1136671371101577172006-01-07T17:02:00.000-05:002006-01-07T17:02:00.000-05:00Zach, I loved It Happened Here when I saw it on a ...Zach, I loved <B>It Happened Here</B> when I saw it on a double bill with, if memory serves, <B>Casablanca</B> four years ago. Your description of the film reminds me why. <BR/><BR/>I have the <B>Tout va Bien</B> DVD sitting on my to-watch pile, where its been for months now. I just never feel quite up to watching this rather (I've been warned) difficult film at home; I wish this release had been accompanied by a travelling print (or if it was, that it had travelled nearer to me); I'm far more motivated to see Godard in a cinema.Brian Darrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693169310367670898noreply@blogger.com