Le Mepris (Compromise)

Taking it very slow with this one. Viewing is getting sloppy with mes films francais because I think I am beginning to understand every spoken word- but that is no excuse to skim. Films from the Vague (pronounced Vog) age are especially tricky, and much of the meaning is so far beneath the script, that it is crucial to obsess over each and every minute if one wants to truly comprehend what the hell is going on. So, knowing le francais won't cut it.

First twenty minutes: introduced to the two main characters, seemingly casual context, demure progression punctuated by the same melancholy song (Georges Delerue). Acquainted with a plain, but charming couple- Camille and Paul Javal (Brigitte Bardot (!!!) and Michel Piccoli). The opening lines, in fact, are a back-and-forth affectionate interplay:

Camille Javal: You like all of me? My mouth? My eyes? My nose? And my ears?
Paul Javal: Yes, all of you.
Camille Javal: Then you love me... totally?
Paul Javal: Yes. Totally... tenderly... tragically.

if my french isn't very off (and if I could just show off for a second, sorry) it would really have gone like this:

Et, tu m'aimes tout? Ma bouche? Mes yeux? Mon nez? Et mes oreilles?

Oui, tout.

Et puis, tu m'aime totalement?

Oui. Totalement... tendrement... tragiquement.

Of course, Brigitte Bardot is nude, and lying on her stomach- gently playing with her bleached hair. The scene, in my understanding, was nothing more than a typical romantic beginning to what I thought just might end up being a cheesy movie. The pessimist in me, however, loves that this is their highest moment. From there it is a downhill slope to awkward, frigid conversations between the two.

Very much enjoyed that deconstruction that mirrors the exact reality of how relationships wax and wane in their excitement and affection.

Really don't feel like I have any right to look too deeply into the meaning at my current state, because I've only finished the first (though crucial) twenty minutes. So far I am able to recognize Godard's cold, black sarcasm towards love from other movies of his I've seen- and I can make an inference to the origin of the title "Contempt" through the mood of their intimacy- but I feel like Godard is deeper than a simple statement on the tumultuous nature of affinity.