May 68 has been a real clash in France. The left has rise and took so much power that the biggest enterprises were affraid of dealing with the unions of workers. The "revolution" it brought has had many levels of effects and the dust hasn't been down until many years after. Godard & Gorin wanted to show how it changed little things but everything has been the same after all with Tout va bien. More like a cinéma-vérité experiment Tout va bien is openly on the workers' side. For more than the first half of the film we follow with a journalist (Jane Fonda) and an ex-film director (Yves Montand) the strike of some industrial meat producer factory.
The "propos" is very satyrical and long shots are used to let the characters explain their engaged opinions on the subject matter. One of the longest scene in Tout va bien is the long unedited sequence at the supermarket that demonstrates how even capitalists and politicians used the left current to make profit with it and get more attention. The film is all about politics and the effects of May 68 in France. My favorite scene of it is where the camera keeps moving on the side of the cut of the meat factory offices. It surely influenced Wes Anderson's similar scenes in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Tout va bien is an interesting piece of film but its themes are outdated and the "propos" of the film is not objective enough to make it a masterpiece or whatsoever. The cinematography is simple but very eye-popping. This is the kind of film one should approach with caution or like me as a Godard enthusiast.
No comments:
Post a Comment