The Jean-Luc Godard movie Wim Wenders calls “incredible”
Widely regarded as one of the major artistic voices of New German Cinema, Wim Wenders helped shape Germany’s national cinema at a time when it was still searching for a definite identity. Through endlessly beautiful works of art like Alice in the Cities and Wings of Desire, Wenders launched unforgettable explorations of the human condition.
2023 has been an especially important year for Wenders, who saw the release of two major projects. In addition to his new documentary Anselm, Wenders also directed a new feature called Perfect Days, which was selected as the Japanese entry to the Oscars. Starring the legendary actor Kōji Yakusho as a toilet cleaner, Perfect Days was undoubtedly among the most noteworthy cinematic visions that came out this year.
Ranging from European art movements to Asian cinema, Wenders has always worked with an eclectic mixture of creative influences. During a conversation with A.Frame, the German auteur opened up about the masterpieces that he still thinks about even after all these years. Including the works of titans like Jean Renoir and Jim Jarmusch, Wenders’ list should definitely be considered essential viewing but there’s one gem that manages to stand out from the rest.
While talking about the works of French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard, Wenders singled out the 1963 drama Contempt as his personal pick. When asked to elaborate on the movie, he said: “I want to put Jean-Luc Godard on my list, so I chose Le mépris — or Contempt, as it’s called in English. It is an incredible film in scope and shows Godard at his best. It’s a heartbreaking film with Brigitte Bardot and Jack Palance.”
Pointing out the meta-textual experiments contained within Contempt, Wenders added: “One of his actors is Fritz Lang — the real Fritz Lang, who directed Metropolis — and he’s playing a director in the movie. Le mépris has amazing acting, is very free and loosely edited, and is a wonderful movie about filmmaking. For me, having Fritz Lang in there is just unbelievable to watch. To see this man play a fictional director is incredible.”
Starring the iconic Brigitte Bardot, Contempt is simultaneously playful and depressing. Michel Piccoli plays the role of a writer who has to rewrite a script for Fritz Lang’s adaptation of the Odyssey. As he delves deeper into the project and his own misery, he witnesses the rapid destruction of his marriage as an impotent spectator who can do nothing but watch.
Watch the trailer below.
