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Politics
Politics are never far from the surface in Godard's films. One of his earliest
features, Le Petit Soldat, dealt with the Algerian War of Independence, and was
notable for its attempt to present the complexity of the dispute rather than
pursue any specific ideological agenda. Along these lines, Les Caribiniers
presents a fictional war that is initially romanticized in the way its
characters approach their service, but becomes a stiff anti-war metonym. In
addition to the international conflicts Godard sought an artistic response to,
he was also very concerned with the social problems in France. The earliest and
best example of this is Karina's potent portrayal of a prostitute in Vivre sa
vie.
In 1960s Paris, the political milieu was not overwhelmed by one specific
movement. There was, however, a distinct post-war climate shaped by various
international conflicts such as the colonialism in North Africa and Southeast
Asia. The side that opposed such colonization included the majority of French
workers, who belonged to the French communist party, and the Parisian artists
and writers who positioned themselves on the side of social reform and class
equality. A large portion of this group had a particular affinity for the
teachings of Karl Marx. Godard's Marxist disposition did not become abundantly
explicit until La Chinoise and Week End, but is evident in several films —
namely Pierrot and Une femme mariée.
Vietnam
Godard produced several pieces that directly address the Vietnam conflict.
Furthermore, there are two scenes in Pierrot le fou that tackle the issue. The
first is a scene that takes place in the initial car ride between Ferdinand (Belmondo)
and Marianne (Karina). Over the car radio, the two hear the message "garrison
massacred by the Viet Cong who lost 115 men". Marianne responds with an extended
musing on the way the radio dehumanizes the Northern Vietnamese combatants.
In the same film, the lovers accost a group of American sailors along the course
of their liberating crime spree. The two’s immediate reaction, expressed by
Marianne, is "Damn Americans!" an obvious outlet of the frustration so many
French communists felt towards American hegemony. Ferdinand then reconsiders,
"That’s OK, we’ll change our politics. We can put on a play. Maybe they’ll give
us some dollars." Marianne is puzzled but Ferdinand suggests that something the
Americans would like would be the Vietnam War. The ensuing sequence is a
makeshift play where Marianne dresses up as a stereotype Vietnamese woman and
Ferdinand as an American sailor. The scene ends on a brief shot revealing a
chalk message left on the floor by the pair, "Long live Mao!" (Vive Mao!).
Notably, he also participated in Loin du Vietnam (1967). An anti-war project, it
consists of seven sketches directed by Godard (who used stock footage from La
Chinoise), Claude Lelouch, Joris Ivens, William Klein, Chris Marker, Alain
Resnais and Agnès Varda.
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