Godard seul le cinéma (Godard Cinema)

"He did everything. And the opposite of it too." Only a mysterious bon mot can describe Jean-Luc Godard, the master of enigmatic one-liners, which, by the way, he likes to throw around in his films. JLG, as his name is usually abbreviated, is the most innovative and important living director. No doubt. Documentary filmmaker Cyril Leuthy clearly explains the erratic course of JLG since his 1960 nouvelle vague debut À bout de souffle: pioneering iconoclast, creator of radical left-wing cinematic pamphlets, video pioneer and true master of cinema. JLG speaks exclusively through archive material, but Leuthy interviews a select group of connoisseurs. From biographers – plural, every French film journalist wants to write the definitive JLG book – to former collaborators, such as actress Nathalie Baye.

“Jean-Luc Godard is cinema, its quintessence. We hate him as much as we worship him. Where does his aura come from? From legendary films of course, but also from Godard himself. He is a public figure as much as a man shrouded in mystery. Everything and its opposite, he has taken all possible paths.” - Biennale Cinema