The French template
THE WEEK India|October 02, 2022
Many Indian filmmakers have taken inspiration from Jean-Luc Godard, who passed away recently
POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL
The French template

In the theatrical release, Adieu Godard, directed by Amartya Bhattacharyya, Ananda, an uneducated, lanky old man in a remote village in Odisha, is addicted to pornography. He cycles long distances every day to bag DVDs of porn films with deceptive covers. He then watches it at home with his crew of four, much to the chagrin of his wife and grown-up daughter. One day, a DVD fails to do its job, and instead plays the French cult classic Breathless, directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Annoyed that the film offered “no song, dance, fight and romance”, Ananda’s friends diss him, but he remains captivated by the film. The chance encounter turns Ananda into an Godard fan and he decides to introduce the French filmmaker to his village in order to “make people think and open up their minds”. Ananda’s fascination with Godard bears semblance to Bhattacharyya’s fascination with the iconoclastic French filmmaker who is known to have championed a spontaneous, resolutely modern, intensely free and just-pick-up-a-camera-and-start-shooting style of filming. Godard died earlier this month at the age of 91 by assisted suicide.

The 123-minute-long film comes across as a tribute to the world’s most acclaimed directors, known for classics that broke conventional notions and helped kickstart a new way of filmmaking with handheld cameras, jump cuts and existential dialogues. Godard’s famous line, “A movie should have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order” became the byword of the new wave movement, and his influence spread far and wide, including in India.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 02, 2022 من THE WEEK India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 02, 2022 من THE WEEK India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE WEEK INDIA مشاهدة الكل
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024