So, this review is going to require some disclosure. I do not enjoy 3D movies. Never have, likely never will. My eyes do not register the effect very well,
and the consequential blurring and discoloration that is often a by-product of
the 3D rendering process tends to pull me out of the experience rather than
immerse me. So, it is very well
possible, if not probable, that by watching Goodbye
To Language in 2D, rather than the 3D for which it was filmed, I have
deprived myself of the substantial purpose of the film. Furthermore, I do not generally watch art
films. I tend to prefer narrative
pieces, which is why I generally stick to films reasonably likely to be known
by my audience. However, May is shaping
up to be a slow month for notable home video releases, so I thought I would try
my hand at something different.
Being that this is an art film, it will most certainly not
be for everyone. Between the
experimental shifts in coloring to the seemingly arbitrary dialogue and
voiceover (all appropriately enough in French), many a viewer is sure to be
baffled by an hour with no readily apparent purpose. Goodbye
To Language is best classified as an audio-visual experience rather than a
traditional narrative motion picture, and like all art, what you take away from
it will be completely unique to you.
The film is comprised of two interchanging parts: “Nature”
and “Metaphor.” “Nature” is
paradoxically set primarily in urban locales, cars, or in a person’s home, and
dialogue philosophizes over visual chaos.
My takeaway from these portions was that as language evolves, it becomes
harder and harder for us to understand one another, because language is no
longer about communication but individual expression. “Metaphor,” on the other hand, primarily
focuses on a dog wandering through the woods with observational voiceover as
accompaniment. I took these portions to
be representative of there not being a need to communicate at a base natural
level. Now, my interpretations may not
be the understood norm of what this art piece is supposed to represent, but
given my usual avoidance of art without structure, this is the best I can come
up with.
Director Jean-Luc Godard is best known for founding the
French New Wave film movement in the 1960s, which tends to abandon character,
story, and form in favor of experimentation with film as a medium. That is precisely what he has done here,
though as a two-dimensional experience it is hard to judge it as anything
revolutionary. New Wave techniques have
worked their way into popular cinema over the decades, so perhaps the 3D
experiments Godard performed here will make their way into our annual
blockbusters. I don’t rightly know, and
I likely never will, given my distaste for this particular experiment. So is Goodbye
To Language a good film? I’m not
sure I can give a definitive answer. I
don’t regret the hour I spent with it, but I don’t think I could recommend the
film with any enthusiasm either.
Ultimately, it comes down to whether you think yourself a person who
would enjoy abandoning narrative fiction for an hour to simply experience
something. And only you can answer that
question.
Have any experience with art cinema? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
No comments:
Post a Comment