Le Mépris
Classic by Jean-Luc Godard starring Michel Piccoli and Brigitte Bardot in a marital crisis during the shooting of an Odyssey film adaptation.
Jean-Luc Godard self-reflexively tells the story of a screenwriter, Paul Javal, who has been hired to rewrite the screenplay for a new movie based on Homer’s ODYSSEY. The film’s director is Fritz Lang (playing himself). The producer is a loud-mouthed and self-indulgent American named Prokosch. Art, commerce, and personal affairs clash as Paul courts favour with Prokosch, and compromises his marriage to Camille. Their relationship winds up in a downward spiral of unspoken intentions and complex emotions.
LE MÉPRIS remains a miraculous contemplation of the corroding effect of the film business on those who aspire to raise it to the level of great art. Godard used colour for the first time, flooding the screen with stunning compositions in Technicolor, and composer Georges Delerue created one of his most heart-breaking scores.