Adieu au langage (2014)

Adieu au langage: Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. With Héloïse Godet, Kamel Abdelli, Richard Chevallier, Zoé Bruneau. A silent, surreal parallel between a couple and a dog.

“Jean-Luc Godard was 84 when he made u0026quot;Goodbye to Languageu0026quot;. It shared the Jury prize at Cannes with 25 year old Xavier Dolanu0026#39;s u0026quot;Mommyu0026quot;. Age is no barrier when it comes to making movies, right? Easy to be innovative at any age, right; be that Dolanu0026#39;s mucking about with the size of the screen or 84 year old Godardu0026#39;s abandonment of narrative altogether. Neither film is likely to please all of the pundits although Godardu0026#39;s did come runner-up in Sight and Soundu0026#39;s poll of the best films of the year. Of course, it isnu0026#39;t just language that Godard is saying goodbye to here; by choosing to make his film in 3D itu0026#39;s as if he has decided to turn his back on u0026#39;conventionalu0026#39; film-making. Itu0026#39;s not that we havenu0026#39;t been here before; the old codger has been subverting film language for decades.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSince u0026#39;discoveringu0026#39; politics in the late sixties Godard has been dispensing with traditional narrative in film after film. If this is less political and even more abstract than we have come to expect it is no less infuriating though, for reasons I canu0026#39;t quite explain, it is also very watchable. That, of course, may have a lot to do with the look of the picture rather than the sound of it. Visually it is extraordinarily beautiful even if it makes no real sense, (perhaps you might pick up on his themes after several viewings).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are no real u0026#39;charactersu0026#39; as such though a man, a woman, (both frequently naked; even at 84 Godard likes his pound of flesh), and a dog appear frequently though it is sometimes hard to know who is actually speaking, not that it matters. This picture isnu0026#39;t called u0026quot;Goodbye to Languageu0026quot; for nothing. Words are both profound and superfluous while the film itself feels like something we could just as easily have done without. Thatu0026#39;s not by way of criticism but is rather more a statement of fact that, Iu0026#39;m sure, Godard might endorse. Iu0026#39;m glad Iu0026#39;ve seen it and Iu0026#39;m glad the old reprobate is still flying in the face of fashion. No-one else could have made it and surely that is Godardu0026#39;s gift as well as his legacy.”