26 janvier 2008

Je vous salue Sarajevo (Jean-Luc Godard, 1993)



In a sense, fear is the daughter of God, redeemed on Good Friday night. She's not beautiful, mocked, cursed and disowned by all. But don't get it wrong: she watches over all mortal agony, she intercedes for mankind.
For there's a rule and an exception.
Culture is the rule, and art is the exception.
Everybody speaks the rule: cigarette, computer, t-shirt, television, tourism, war.
Nobody speaks the exception. It isn't spoken, it's written: Flaubert, Dostoyevsky. It's composed: Gershwin, Mozart. It's painted: Cezanne, Vermeer. It's filmed: Antonioni, Vigo.
Or it's lived, and then it's the art of living: Srebenica, Mostar, Sarajevo.
The rule is to want the death of the exception. So the rule for Cultural Europe is to organize the death of the art of living, which still flourishes.

When it's time to close the book, I'll have no regrets.
I've seen so many people live so badly, and so many die so well.

5 commentaires:

Daniel Kasman a dit…

Jesus. Amazing, thanks so much for this.

And Godard was way ahead of the now-hip set who use Arvo Part too; good to know.

David McDougall a dit…

This is one of the great achievements of cinema.

Daniel Kasman a dit…

Can I rip this entire post and put it on my blog, attributing you?

Ed Howard a dit…

This film is a mini-masterpiece in just 2 minutes. The way Godard deconstructs and divides the image in order to enhance the impact of the final moment when it's finally seen in all its heartrending horribleness... Just amazing. Godard's short essay-films are in many ways an even more impressive body of work than his features.

junior a dit…

très fort...