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In Memorium: Jean-Luc Godard

Seth Schouten

On September 13, 2022, news broke that French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard passed away at the age of 91. Godard was a defining voice of a generation of filmmakers. Alongside the likes of Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer, and many other iconic directors, Godard helped shape and define the French New Wave movement, particularly as it developed in the 1960s. He is remembered for his revolutionary style and bravery, as he has left an eternal mark on the craft of filmmaking.

Godard got his start in film criticism in the 1950s before eventually transitioning into making his own short films by the middle of the decade. His first feature film was Breathless (1960), a crime drama about a criminal and his American girlfriend as they try to escape the police. It was a major success and drew international attention to the new style of innovative filmmaking growing in France. While the film is most famous for its use of jump cuts, critic Roger Ebert remarks that its most revolutionary elements are its “headlong pacing, its cool detachment, its dismissal of authority, and the way its narcissistic young heroes are obsessed with themselves and oblivious to the larger society.”

Breathless was followed by A Woman is a Woman (1961), which is the first of Godard’s many collaborations with actress Anna Karina and the film that launched her acting career. Karina won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival for her role. Karina would star in a total of eight of Godard’s films between 1961 and 1967. Godard remained ferociously creative throughout the sixties and turned out films like Vivre sa vie (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), and Masculin Féminin (1966) in short order, often making several features a year.

Godard remained a political figure all his life, but that passion for politics became more pronounced in his filmmaking as the sixties came to an end. His commitment to politics even superseded his love of filmmaking. In 1968, Godard and Truffaut led the protests that led to the cancellation of that year’s Cannes Film Festival out of a sense of solidarity with the ongoing international protest movements at the time.

He founded the film production company Dziga Vertov Group which made a string of politically-charged features throughout the 1970s. As the 1980s dawned, Godard became more withdrawn from the mainstream of art cinema, and his creative output began to wane. The last film he ever completed was The Image Book (2018).

Stylistically, Godard was a cinematic rebel. He cared little for convention and tradition; instead, he preferred to upset the status quo. He shot films in the Parisian streets, rather than in studios. He shot without a completed script, instead writing the dialogue as the shoot progressed. It stood as an iconoclastic opposite to the opulence and rigour of studio-dominated Hollywood.

“[R]ight now, when so many people have gotten used to seeing themselves defined as passive consumers, [Godard’s] movies feel more necessary and alive than ever.” — Martin Scorsese

Richard Brody of The New Yorker describes Godard’s style as “firsthand cinema.” He made films that were “personal and independent . . . urgent and accessible.” His films are marked by the freedom of youth. His work spread across genres from crime drama to political thrillers to science fiction to romances to musicals. He made the familiar deeply intimate.

In response to Godard’s passing, director Martin Scorsese wrote for The Guardian, “From Breathless on, Godard redefined the very idea of what a movie was and where it could go. . . . And I must say right now, when so many people have gotten used to seeing themselves defined as passive consumers, his movies feel more necessary and alive than ever.”

“His presence made me brave,” writes filmmaker Claire Denis in the same article. “His films gave a belief not in cinema—for I was already a believer— but in how I had to find my own path, even with my extremely small gifts.”

Godard was acknowledged in his time for his innovation, drawing the attention of filmmakers like Orson Welles, Satyajit Ray, Fritz Lang, and Akira Kurosawa. Godard is also recognized as one of the most profound influences on the filmmakers that followed him. Quentin Tarantino, John Waters, Won Kar-wai, Andrei Tarkovsky, Abbas Kiarostami, Cantal Akerman, Wes Anderson—filmmakers of every genre, language, and nation—and many others have all sung the praises of Godard.

“Godard is a director of the very first rank,” wrote Ebert in an almost prophetic 1969 article. “Like Joyce in fiction or Beckett in theater [sic], he is a pioneer whose present work is not acceptable to present audiences. But his influence on other directors is gradually creating and educating an audience that will, perhaps in the next generation, be able to look back at his films and see that this is where their cinema began.”

With an arsenal of innovative work and a long-lasting legacy, it seems as if Ebert was right: the films of Godard are where our cinema begins.

Campus Culture Spotlight: The Thomistic Institute

Marcus Wang, founder and president of The Thomistic Institute, Trinity Western University Chapter

What is the name of your community?

The Thomistic Institute, Trinity Western University Chapter

What are the main services, events, or activities that your community facilitates?

We put on exciting public lectures and socials on Christian philosophy and theology from an ecumenical standpoint each semester for the purpose of encouraging members of our community to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus and each other. St. Thomas Aquinas, the universal doctor of the Church, is our touchstone (hence the “Thomistic” part of our name). We also have a weekly book club where we meet and talk philosophically about all things related to Jesus and each other— plus I bring Chinese snacks sometimes so that’s cool.

When and Where does your Club Meet?

Fridays, 3:30 p.m., graduate seminar room, first floor of RNT.

What are some fun events that your group has put on in the past?

Several lectures by world-class Christian scholars on Biblical theology, faith and science, moral philosophy, and many field trips to restaurants and a lovely Benedictine Monastery! In fact, we are putting on a free public lecture this fall (Friday, October 7, 2022 at 7 p.m., DeVries auditorium) on Christianity as True Philosophy: The Theology of St. Justin Martyr. Come join us! There may even be cookies and coffee.

In 1-2 sentences, how would you describe the culture in your community?

We are a lot of fun! Academic discussions about big questions in our life journey of faith with Christ need not be intimidating. It can be, and in my opinion, should be, relaxing and profoundly encouraging and that is what we do.

What do you like best about your community?

We seek relaxing and meaningful relationships with our members and Christ. Helping and encouraging each other is the key to living out Christ’s grace and charity.

What’s a crazy or funny thing that’s happened in your community’s history?

Want to see a bunch of people ranging from all different majors, backgrounds, and age groups arguing who’s the best poet? It is weirdly exciting. I am pretty sure someone injured their finger once from typing during a debate.

Where can students find more information about your community?

Email me at marcuswang15@gmail.com and go to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ThomisticInstituteTWU