Nouvelle Vague:  released on Netflix this is a black and white film from Richard Linklater.  Richard has had a banner year with this release and also Blue Moon.   Set in Paris in the late 1950s this movie explores the directorial debut of Jean Luc Godard.   He was part of the French Film Revolution that also included his friend and competitor Francois Truffaut.  They were part of a school which brought about a number of famous actors, directors and movies.   The movie he produces is Breathless, which is regarded as a classic.   I have never seen it, and my only knowledge of it is the poor remake with Richard Gere back in the 80s.

Godard was frustrated among his peers that he had only directed a short film by the age of 25. He sells his producer the idea of this next movie. He has a vision, but has an unconventional idea on the creative process. He wants for things to just happen organically and not be scripted out. He has no script. He has ideas which he passes on to his actors. The principal female actor Jean Seberg (an American from Iowa in France) was not convinced of this style which was unlike she had done in Hollywood. She tried to walk off the film a number of times but he husband and agent convinced her to stay. Her interaction with Jean-Paul Belmondo made the process worthwhile it seems for her. Godard battled with his producer, his crew was left with odd times to work with early days at times while Godard contemplated where things would go. It was interesting and kept me engaged. Godard for his attitude and approach to filming would rub others the wrong way but he was fixated on the task at hand of creating art. Art is forever. Process is temporary. This is worth checking out. I wish that I had more film history knowledge. If I have watched Godard films I likely would get more out of this. I am more familiar with Trouffaut but even then not as much. Still it seemed to be well made and took a concerted effort to re-imagine this movie. No one can ever claim that Linklater doesn’t do his homework.

Eddington: I had heard some positive buzz about this movie. It stars A-list actors, multiple Oscars with Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Austin Butler and Mr Everywhere Pedro Pascal. Set in early 2020 in small town Eddington New Mexico, we have a town struggling with COVID, like everywhere else. Phoenix plays the town sheriff, and he is married to Stone. Pascal plays the town’s mayor who is coming up for re-election. Early on I knew that I was going to struggle with this story. Phoenix doesn’t believe in COVID, he refuses to wear a mask and corrects those in town (like the grocery store owner) trying to ensure that masks are worn in store, and there is social distancing. I had trouble with Phoenix as a man in a position of power defying the laws of New Mexico and federally. The Mayor does wear a mask and has the statistics to back up the reasoning. Early on in a fit of pique Phoenix chooses to record himself and post on Facebook his decision to run for mayor. He takes his two deputies and makes them campaign managers. He decorates his police vehicle with his campaign stickers and posters (some of them with improper grammar).

The sheriff lives with his wife and mother in law.  Neither of whom treat him with any respect.  Wife Stone is struggling with her past and seeks better options than those offered by Phoenix.  She certainly makes it clear that she doesn’t want her personal life made public.  A series of incidents occur and it leads quickly to a substantial elevation in conflict between the two men.  It is actually quite surprising just how far this is willing to go.  

There is the adage that one can “embellish to make a point”.  This ploy takes that to entirely new levels, all the while adding in current social issues to comment on.  The issues include sexual misconduct, rape, false accusations, big IT harming the general public, professional chaos seekers and demonstrators, rascism, white privilege, indigenous rights, police corruption, abuses of power, gun control, social media, blame shifting and more.  It adds up to a complete mess with the final act putting the cherry on top!   Certainly there is commentary being made about the American experiment and just how broken the system can become.  I am still sorry that the decision was made to take this over the top to the extent that it did.  Ultimately I didn’t really care in the final act, because I didn’t have a character to cheer on. So the point gets lost when the principal party involved is a repulsive human being who has no filter and no sense of duty.