Le Mepris

I figured since no one else had mentioned the film in their blog, I would take a stab at it. Le Mepris was telling, provocative, and mysterious. The storyline was developed, but secretive...and they never really let you in on the issue between Paul and Camille. I felt myself wondering if something had happened...if Prokosch (sp?) had done something to her...so that now she blamed Paul and could no longer love him. Why else would she be so angry? Then I thought maybe it was the "tap" on the other girl's behind. But that seemed too simple, too easy.

I really enjoyed the insights interjected in italics throughout the film. It enhanced its provocative air...making the reader think about life, love, and passion. In the end, Camille is upset with Paul because she was a commodity. His passion for writing had dwindled into a commodity. Everything was just another thing to be taken for granted. Even the nude girls throughout the film...it was a just a bonus. Film allows you to see naked girls...that's what's great about it. Not its ability for release or exploration, but free nudity.

This relates a lot to our reading from Horkheimer and Adorno, as they believe this is what film did. It commodified art...feeding the capitalist hunger. Paul tried to prove to Camille that he was doing it for love, and that the money didn't matter to him (but perhaps to her). She felt like he was doing it for the wrong reasons...kept questioning his loyalty to Prokosch, to his love of the script, and his love of her.

The most difficult thing about the film was how her attitude kept shifting so quickly. I found it hard to relate to and connect with her as she loved him one minute and despised him the next, with change of scene or action. I began to wonder if she was bi-polar or something! Then I wondered if maybe it was due to the translation...although from what little I know of language, it sounded relatively on the money.

Long live the question...is film art? And if art is being commidified and multiplied and devalued, then what of film? Film...this malleable, boundaryless thing...