It's not just that there's a self-awareness here that Godard is rarely interested in pursuing, but a remarkably observant depiction of systematic abuses both from that system itself and how it translates into basic interpersonal relationships which makes me wonder if this might be Godard's best film. As JLG mentioned on Dick Cavett in 1980, the more accurate translation of the films title is probably "Save Your Ass," - the official English title does not note that this is about two genders, not one. Anyways, I wonder if the perceptivity here comes from being the first movie after Godard's most radical (and in my opinion, possibly his richest and most interesting) and is his return to "the world," "the mainstream,"…

Godard's crudely sexual metafiction (starring Jacques Dutronc as a director named Paul Godard) seems to be prototypical of latter day Godard, a mishmash of ideas and images, jumps and narrative juxtapositions, but with a more or less coherent central plot. Notably, he plays around with slow motion, a feature made more prominent by the British title of the film (Slow Motion, naturlich), which is the name under which I eventually found it.

The slow motion is most notable as used for emphasis, not necessarily like it gets used in action films, where it is used to either depict emotional distress or to highlight the speed of the action through contrast. Rather, here it captures relatively low key moments. While it's…

During the last three months, I've made a pretty aggressive effort at going through Jean-Luc Godard's filmography in quasi-chronological order. In that time, I feel as though I've evoked, if not explicitly described a "rebirth of cinema" at least eight times. At this point, it's probably tiresome to anyone reading. And yet, Godard himself described Sauve qui peut (la vie) as his "second first film." As his first feature narrative film in over a decade (though I guess this can be disputed), the film was already seen at the time as Godard's rebirth. He was finally back to making a film that the general public could go to an actual theater and see projected on screen.

With his work in…

G: You always wanted love to come from work, things we could do together not just at night. You said our nights should grow out of our days, not vice versa.
I: It’s not me, that’s how people live.
G: We both agreed love couldn’t survive without a little work. Otherwise it’s just bursts of passion. Nothing that lasts.
I: It’s to hard when it lasts.
G: I want to stop defining things and just do them. Call that what you will.

In Sauve qui peut (la vie), Godard explores the themes of love, sexual lust, male-female relationships and then extends them to broader social themes. He does this by following the love and (sex)work lives of three different characters,…

Reading up on this film, it seems like people are saying this is Godard's commentary on his previous work. Which is fine, but doesn't count for much if you (like myself) aren't familiar with his previous work. I mean, there's a lot here about exploiting women and the sloppiness of relationships, so I guess he's working through a lot of stuff there? But there isn't so much a linear storyline as just some loosely connected events. "Every Man for Himself" was frankly confusing at times - I'm not totally sure *what* we're going for here. Some if it is just depressing, some incredibly annoying (almost had to turn it off with that opera singer in the beginning), and some scenes…

No cambié de opinión desde la primera vez que la vi, "Sauve qui peut" es de las películas de Godard que me resultan más desagradables.
Está filmada con un gran desprecio, que el director ha tenido la delicadeza de evitar en sus grandes películas.

Puede ser interesante mostrar como la sociedad capitalista, o lo que fuese, transforma a los humanos en objetos, pero el problema empieza cuando el director mismo los trata como objetos, de los que puede disponer. Nadie es libre, okay, a todos nos usan, pero de ahí a que el director pase a ejercer su voluntad de dominio, su sadismo, en los personajes, hay un trecho. La humillación como principio estético para retratar la humillación.

Todo está…

Treads the same ground as Cronenberg's Crash and Murakami's Tokyo Decadence. But of course since it's Godard, it was years ahead of them, and powerfully provokes a heavier response. More than a bit of that power lays on the Queen of Ambivalent Inscrutable characters, Isabelle Huppert. She wows a third act here by a consistent withholding of reaction, a performance of ambitious entrepreneurial suffering. Dissociative states as an occupation. It's a stunner that stays with you.

Godard hitting 50 was apparently a desperate and depressed rage-filled mess. Out the other side of idealistic Marxism, he's hit the nihilistic wall where nothing matters except a chance for it all to end. His analog-avatar refuses what seems like the only earnest offer…

I suppose this is like 8 1/2 . I personally like it more than 8 1/2. Directors making movies about the frustration of making movies are kind of moot on an audience who are watching the movie. Fellini at least creates some human drama out of the experience to latch onto. But Godard, as usual, just uses this as another excuse to kind of spout out marxism and decry western ideals while prostitutes pad the margins. The personal experience he uses to frame the movie with doesn't really matter. And honestly, this is a more subtle "fuck you" than Contempt was and a lot more enjoyable. I mean, it's Godard. What do you expect? Some sort of memorable and resonant…

- Vous avez envie d’aller au cinéma ?
- Non, pas spécialement.

Apesar do aparente optimismo no regresso às salas de cinema, neste “renascimento comercial” de Godard, Sauve qui peut (la vie) de 1980 é um filme de autêntica desolação. No seu segundo primeiro filme*, Godard apresenta, em quatro passos, três personagens cujas relações frustradas, fingidas ou forçadas com o mundo, as lançam numa fuga sem rumo concreto.
 
Ao centro, Godard espelha-se abertamente (e de forma bastante frágil), na figura de Paul Godard (Jacques Ductronc), personagem triste e particularmente desprezível, cujo comportamento negativo se alinha com o das restantes personagens masculinas do filme. À fabulada misoginia dos seus filmes nos anos 60, Godard responde aqui com o retrato duma…