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Too much of everything

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There is something about Godard that I find hypnotic. Even when you know it's not right, it still seems like it is perfect for the cinema! The way he moves his characters about within a frame. The mannerisms and political diatribe he allows his actors to divulge in, and sometimes the crude visual beauty makes for some mind stimulating cinema. And for this one, he pushes it that little bit further, as he does with all his work. The older he gets, the more eccentric he has become, and the more fascinating he is. To me, this is his last real masterpiece before he became the mad professor of the Wacky Cinema According To Godard!

Jean-Luc Godard updates the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus to modern times. That's actually an interesting idea but Godard manages to totally destroy it. For starters all the acting is bad--there's not one good performance in this. Also the characters are unlikable. Mary comes across as a wimp and Joseph as a jerk. And remember the angel Gabriel who stops Joseph from beating Mary when he thinks she has had sex with someone else? Here they make a homeless guy the angel (???) and have him jump up from behind chairs and stop Joseph (????). I saw this at an art cinema back in 1985 and the audience erupted in laughter when that part came up.This movie was blasted and criticized by the Catholic Church. They objected to scenes showing Mary withering nude and alone on the bed while being impregnated by God. The pope (who never saw the movie) called for an outright ban and all the good Catholics staged protests at every theatre it played. As a result this became a big hit! Everyone ran to see it. That's too bad. If the pope and others had just shut up this probably would have been ignored and forgotten quickly. I don't think this film is sacrilegious but it IS boring and stupid. A must miss here.

The best part of this film is the music. It is Classic. Dvorak Cello Concerto and Bach Chaconne is well shuffled even before IPod existed. So are the shots. Shuffled, repetitive, boring. The story? Confusing. Religion has nothing to do with my comments. I am an Atheist. While the actress playing the Virgin has a beautiful body and the naked shots are most enjoyable, the script does not allow her to utter an intelligent or intelligible sentence. The other actors are not convincing either. They are not real, and in that respect the virgin birth could be acceptable in the environment as presented. Could this film be regarded as a great director's mistake?Andrew B.

jean luc godard arguably one of the most influential directors of all time, you only have to look at easy rider, scorsese's early films, coppola's films, peter greenaway and spike lee to see the unique and influential impact godard as had on cinema without godard's editing techniques without his cut up style, just imagine easy rider without the whore scene in the cemetery, it could even be said without godard's genius the so called golden age the cult directors enjoyed during the seventies enjoyed would never have happened or at least wouldn't have been as influential. like vigo who gave the toys for welles to play about with in a sense godard gave the world independent cinema. godard is the godfather of independent cinema. this film contains the greatest cinematography, the best direction of actors, the greatest script ever written, some of the most iconic and influential imagery ever put to film and is the most powerful example of existentialism on film. well don't take my word for it you know how highly i think of it or that's left to say is watch it and make your own mind up about it?