Mépris, Le (1963) aka "Contempt" by Jean-Luc Godard
This film was for my Film Directors class. It is the story of the deteriorization of a marriage among the context of a movie about making a movie. There is an extensive use of pans, which signifies very long shots (ie, not many cuts...the action just plays out). The camera acts as a witness to the action, as it follows around one character or another, sometimes turning a circle around the room. The famous director Fritz Lang plays himself as one who attempts to direct the story of Ulysses. He has to deal with an ignorant American producer (Jack Palance) who has a habit of combatting opposition by whipping out a literal little book of wisdom. The main cause of the action is the insistance of the husband Paul, to find out why his wife, Camille, does not love him anymore. There is a parallel between the movie production of Ulysses and that of the couple's situation.
Sang d'un poète, Le (1930) aka "The Blood of a Poet" by Jean Cocteau
This film was viewed for my Film History class. Hot off the press...I just finished watching this film not too much more than a half hour ago. If you are expecting a narrative, don't look to this film. One can only imagine what the film is, especially when it is proceeded by a note from Jean Cocteau, that basically says, "I'm a mad genius, and if you don't get my poetry on the screen, it's not my fault." The film is a presentation of art mixed with surrealism, yet it all mingles together in less than than an hour's worth of film. If one attempts to follow a storyline involving the young man in the first two episodes, it nearly becomes obscured by the introduction of other characters in later episodes. One would be extremely disappointed if searching for a plot. Take with this viewing, the realization that poetry is usally one of the harder forms of literature to understand, so that poetry on film would follow suit. As I try to make sense of it, I wonder if my mind is the empty void to which Cocteau refers.
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