There is a mind-massaging opening quotation in GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE, the latest film from Jean-Luc Godard that was a co-Jury Prize winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and also was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. That quote is: “Those lacking imagination take refuge in reality.” It is the first of many observations that permeate this energetic, stimulating cinematic collage which runs all of 70 minutes and was shot in 3-D.
Godard is of course one of the fathers of the French New Wave. He is now in his eighties and he has been a respected, controversial player on the international film scene since those who now qualify as senior citizens still were in grade school.
In GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE, Godard offers a free-form exploration of ideas that, as so much of his work in recent decades, challenges the nature of traditional cinematic narrative. There is a story of sort in the film. It involves an adulterous relationship between a woman and a man and centers on their inability to communicate. The spotlight also is on a dog, who appears throughout and serves as a link between them. Godard’s camera often lingers on the animal, as if to ask: “What is this dog thinking? How is it viewing the world?”
GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE also includes an array of wildly varying images. Some are old. Some are new. Some are in color. Some are in black-and-white. As they flash across the screen, Godard plays with sound. In one moment, the soundtrack is blaringly loud. Then in an instant, there is silence. One of Godard’s points-- and it is well-worth pondering-- is that, these days, humans are blinded by silence. They are incapable of seeing the world for what it is: a mercilessly cruel place in which individuals are casually harassed and bullied. Yet no one notices. No one responds. No one cares.
Then there are all those quotations, those observations, which come from a range of sources. In GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE, terrorism is defined as “Hitler’s second victory.” Ever the provocateur, Godard asks: “Is society willing to accept murder as a means to fight unemployment?” Another question is: “What is the difference between an idea and a metaphor?”
And Godard offers commentary on everything from the manner in which those in power abuse that power to how that exploitation impacts individuals the world over. He stresses that, these days, people are too busy googling or texting on their iPhones to notice the world around them. He suggests that minds are being deadened by the endless onslaught of technology and, as a result, a kind of fascism is permeating the Western world. At one point, the male character scrutinizes the significance of “The Thinker,” AugusteRodin’s fabled sculpture, while on a toilet seat.
Godard sums it all up by observing: “Today, everyone is afraid.” This, more than anything else, seems to be Jean-Luc Godard’s take on the world in 2014. And despite his age, GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE offers evidence that Godard remains an inspired creator who still has much to say about art, and society, and human relations.
Rob Edelman teaches film history at the University at Albany. He has written several books on film and television, and is an associate editor of Leonard Maltin’s Movie and Video Guide.
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