I'm surprised that Godard still receives finance to make these style of films. But only he can get away with a modern avant-garde pop clip of words for the intellects. What saves most of his movies is the involvement of a big name French cast who give it their best.
Oh, Woe Is Me
1993 [FRENCH]
Action / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance
Plot summary
This complex allegorical tale tells the story of man’s quest for spiritual meaning. When God enters the body of 1980s filmmaker Simon Donnadieu, his wife Rachel realizes that something has gone awry, but chooses to remain faithful to her erratically-behaving husband.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
February 03, 2020 at 02:02 AM
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A modern avant-garde pop clip of words for the intellects.
Godard and Greek Mythology
A romance about Simon Donnadieu (Gerard Depardieu) and his decision to leave his ever-loving wife Rachel (Laurence Masliah).
This film is inspired by the Greek legend of Alcmene and Amphitryon and attempts to show the desire of a god to experience the truth of human desire, suffering and pleasure. The original scenario began with God riding a train through France and Switzerland, observing all the battles of humanity through the window. This sequence required expensive special effects and Godard finally gave up on the idea after visiting a company that demonstrated for him the effects they achieved for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Delicatessen".
What strikes me the most about this film is how Godard brought back that creepy voice from "Alphaville". Though there is no clear connection between the two films, I have to wonder why he chose to use that voice. Personally, I find it very unsettling and it jolts a viewer out of the film... which maybe the point.
This Jean-Luc Godard film would not be an easy affair for all viewers to understand his vision, if there is any !!
Franco-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard continues to be an enigma.It is not only the choice of the topics of his films but also the way he films them makes him a puzzling director.'Hélas,Pour Moi'/'Oh,woe is me' is one such film which brings forth the enigmatic as well as recondite nature of his film making techniques.In terms of conventional customs prevalent in the world of cinema,this film makes very little or no sense at all despite having taken the services of some good actors including French super star Gérard Depardieu.The entire film is imbued with a plethora of words which transport viewers to a world of poetry.However,this verbosity becomes an impediment to the film's narrative flow as there is an evident lack of story.It is not so long ago that this same director favored a beginning,a middle and an end in the same film.However, Oh,woe is me suffers enormously from the lack of these elements. This is a big price for a film to pay as despite beautiful locations including trains and ships,this very film has failed to communicate any message to viewers.This is something which every viewer would take with oneself when this film is watched.