Official Selection out of Competition | France | French, Italian | 107 min
Michel Hazanavicius biopic of Jean-Luc Godard is based on Anne Wiazemsky's autobiography «A Year Later». Wiazemsky was 17 years old when she acted in Godard's film La Chinoise in 1967 and got married to him a couple years later when he was thirty six years old and she was nineteen. The film takes a close look at how Godard's jumbled
Maoist politics affected both his marriage and career; the marriage disintegrated and his popularity dwindled. Godard is ever so present throughout the film. He is there as an arrogant talented artist, lover and husband. He is rebellious and ridiculous. He is depicted in a caricature manner that is neither serious nor somber but definitely admirable. His cinematic adventurous nouvelle vague techniques are part and parcel of Redoubtable and it is as though they offer critique of his prominence in the 60s.
Hazanavicius's film on the octogenarian iconic filmmaker is both humorous and skeptical. It is critical of Godard's mixed political views and of his contempt for his viewers when his film was not well received yet it pays tribute to his influence and presence in cinema. It is a delightfully surprising film on a subject that is so familiar to cinephiles.
Michel Hazanavicius was born to parents of Lithuanian origins in Paris, where he studied at the École Nationale Supérieure d'arts de Paris-Cergy. He began his career as a commercials and television director. He made his debut with Mes Amis (1999). His second film OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) was so successful that it merited a sequel OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009). Hazanavicius came to the attention of international audiences with the release of an almost wordless black and white film, The Artist (2011). The film was universally acclaimed and garnered many major nominations and awards including two Oscars and 2 BAFTAs.
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