Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc, Nathalie Baye, Marguerite Duras Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard / Jean-Luc Godard's superbly acted and inventive parody of modern life revolves around three characters who are all at turning points in their lives. The all-star cast features Isabelle Huppert as a country girl who comes to the city to become a prostitute; Nathalie Baye as a woman who decides to give up her city job to pursue an idyllic life in the country; and Jacques Dutronc as a television director, seperated from his wife and daughter, and at the end of his tether. / The film is stunning to look at and makes striking use of stop-motion photography. After several years away from commercial film-making, Slow Motion marked Godard's return to the cinema and was rapturously received, reaffirming the director's place at the forefront of innovative film-making. / The best thing about Godard: Somewhere about thirty minutes into the movie it struck me how much Godard loves something about movie-making. That's a rare feeling -- to watch a movie and feel the director's love, passion, or fascination for/with the medium. There's a character named Godard in the movie. He's a director. At one point, he says, "The only reason I make movies is because I haven't the strength to do nothing at all." One thinks that the Real Godard would have us believe the words were coming from him. BUT seeing his frames, his cuts, the way he sets the light -- the inventiveness of all of it -- you just feel his joy in the enterprise. David Hammer NYC / Also Known As: / Every Man for Himself (1979) / Rette sich, wer kann (das Leben) (1979) (West Germany) / Runtime: USA:87 min / Country: France / Germany / Austria / Switzerland Language: French with English subtitles Colour (Eastmancolor)
