The Paper's reporter Cheng Xiaojun
December 3 marks the ninetieth birthday of the famous director Jean-Luc Godard. He has always been reclusive and low-key, naturally he will not participate in any celebrations publicly, but his assistant recently gave an interview to the Swiss news agency, but revealed some of the recent situation of the elderly man.
Jean-Luc Godard. Photo from Eddie Slimman's personal website (www.hedislimane.com).
"Godard is in good physical condition. It may be that cigar smoke has made him invincible, and what viruses are blocked out. Fabrice Aragno told reporters. Since 2002, the Swiss film progenitor has long been Godard's personal assistant, participating in the creation of "Our Music", "Film Socialism", "Goodbye Language" and other works.
Aragno said that Godard, who is "full of energy and clear thinking", is currently working on two feature films, and "has already spread out the tables in his kitchen", but the specific content cannot be revealed for the time being.
At the same time, in celebration of his ninetieth birthday, the Swiss film industry has also taken action. His 2018 book Book of Images will be re-released in select local cinemas, at the Rex Cinema in Bern, and on his birthday on December 3, his 2014 3D work Goodbye Language will be screened. Originally, there were also retrospective exhibitions of his works in Zurich and other places, but due to the epidemic, these activities have been affected to varying degrees.
Poster of the Book of Images
Goodbye Language poster
In Aranio's view, Godard, who has entered the age of the back, "sees things and thinks things quickly, and thinks actively, especially in the face of the current digital technology, he is not like us, he may be bound by it, lose focus; he can point out for us what we can't see or subjectively don't want to see." He has made so many films in his life and never repeats himself, but this insight is always there."
Jean-Luc Godard was born in Paris on 3 December 1930 to a Swiss father. He spent most of his childhood in Switzerland, returning to Paris to study in secondary school, but returned to Switzerland after failing the high school exams, and did not return to Paris to study university until the age of 19. He started as a film critic and then started making films himself, becoming a major player in the "New Wave" movement of French cinema.
Since the film, Godard has completed more than 100 film and television works of various types, and is known worldwide for his works such as "Exhausted", "Pirlo the Madman", "Contempt", "Alpha City", "Fangming Carmen" and so on. In April, Godard ran a live broadcast on social media platforms, which also made a lot of waves in the fan circle at that time. In July, the famous French fashion designer Hedi Slimane, as a fan, took a set of black-and-white photos taken and posted on godard's residence and posted on his personal website, which also gave us another glimpse of the old director's unshakable love for cigar smoke.
Photo from Eddie Slimman's personal website.
Former partners and former lovers, one by one, passed away. Today, as the only surviving bearer of the "French New Wave" flag, Godard, accompanied by cigars, is obviously not alone.
Editor-in-charge: Cheng Yu