This film Contempt/Le mépris (Jean-Luc Godard 1963)begins with a long shot of Paul's absolute love for Camille, setting the tone for the emotional starting point of the film. Then, after producer Jeremy intervenes with a crude, out-of-place sense from the English-speaking world, Paul shows a tendency to actively push Camille toward Jeremy. This kind of transformation is buried in the details of the scene where Paul and Jeremy initially meet, with the producer hovering back and forth on the high stage, reciting Dante's poetry, each line followed by an assistant who translates it, and the whole moment is maintained for a long time. With a natural barrier established between Paul and Jeremy, Jeremy appears very much at ease, and Paul is like an outsider, his awkwardness is presented off camera, which is Paul's initial perception of the environment the producer is in.
The conversation continues on the street, with Jeremy talking about the sex scene and the reasons for hiring Paul, who seems to Jeremy to be completely in control. Here again there is an interesting detail, Jeremy takes out a miniature poem for the second time, stops in the middle of the walk and begins to recite it, completely immersed in his own world. He laughs while pointing his finger to the sky, like a speaker in front of people showing Paul his philosophical musings, and at the same moment Paul takes out his cigarette and tries to light it in his mouth. Jeremy contradicts Paul about Lang when he stops from outside the picture and puts his hand on Paul's shoulder, telling him that it's not 33 years. This moment is the closest moment for both of them. The awkward thing is that Paul couldn't immediately understand what Jeremy said, so his eyes kept looking at his assistant, on the one hand avoiding Jeremy's eyes, on the other hand hoping that his assistant could immediately tell him the meaning. Then Jeremy drives on the red car, throwing down a "I'll tell you during the projection". This intro scene shows Jeremy's charm and character very well, the actor's performance uses a lot of physical movements, and seems to be the opposite of formal Paul.s performance uses a lot of physical movements, and seems to be the opposite of formal Paul.s performance uses a lot of physical movements, and seems to be the opposite of formal Paul.
In the next moment, Paul watches Jeremy, who is halfway through his speech, drive alone to the screening room, while he himself is led by his assistant to jog through the overgrown pathway. Before the trio entered the room, Jeremy said an important line , "someone told me you have a very beautiful wife". At this point Jeremy do not face Paul , but turns his back on him and looks at the sky, still immersed in their own world, not consider any etiquette issues. Paul do not reply to any sentence, only after Jeremy entered the room, with a hand slaps the edge of the door frame. Everything is so natural and restrained that all traces of the actors' performances are eliminated, and the characters' relationships and personalities are more clearly explained because of the interesting interactions and the design of translator.With the wide shot, the whole story is thus kicked off, and the initial intention of all the ideas from characters is buried at this moment in the state of everyday life.
View more about Contempt reviews
