Marcel Ophuls et Jean-Luc Godard : la rencontre de Saint Gervais
Marcel Ophüls (Actor), Jean-Luc Godard (Actor), Frédéric Choffat (Film director, Editor of moving image work), Vincent Lowy (Film director, Actor), Philippe Macasdar (Film producer), André Gazut (Actor), Francis Kandel (Actor), Théâtre Saint-Gervais Genève (Presenter), Films du Tigre (Firm) (Presenter), Icarus Films
In 2009, in a small theater in Geneva, Switzerland, the film directors Marcel Ophuls and Jean-Luc Godard met for an unusual, surprisingly intimate and sometimes contentious dialogue with each other in front of a live audience. Luckily for us, it was filmed. Ophuls' film "The sorrow and the pity" triggers Godard to discuss his personal and fragmented childhood memories about his escape to Switzerland during World War, while Ophuls recalls the controversy surrounding the release of his film in France. The issue of the written word being taken more seriously than the moving image is brought up by Godard. Throughout their meeting, the two directors debate about national and ethnic identities, what it means to be Jewish, the role of the director, and auteur theory, which ultimately reveals why they never collaborated on a tentative film that was once discussed. This film gives us the unique opportunity to spend time with an encounter between two of the most influential and idiosyncratic post-war film directors. Godard and Ophuls are in the twilight of their years, but they remain provocative, sharp, and as uncompromising as ever
Nonfiction films
1 videodisc (44 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in
776621638
Produced in 2010
This disc is a recorded DVD and may not play on all DVD players or drives
Filmed in Geneva, 31 October 2009.
Soundtrack in French, with English subtitles
Marcel Ophuls, Jean-Luc Godard, André Gazut, Francis Kandel, Vincent Lowy.
Cinematography and editing, Frédéric Choffat.