Reviewing Goodbye to Language is like watching it. Very confusing.

All that really matters is the ground-breaking moment where Godard rips up the 3D rulebook and redefines the format. The image splits. One half of the dual projection shows a woman being threatened at gunpoint and the other shows her lover watching on.

With both eyes open you get the uncanny distortion of seeing two shots at once. With one open you see the lover, and with the other you see the woman and her attacker.

Three shots – your choice.

It’s like every previous 3D filmmaker is shooting blind and Godard is the first to open his eyes.

Godard’s formal daring is ever-present – a hack-and-slash juxtaposition of perspectives, opinions, visual planes and audio channels. The pay-off for that thrill is a disjointed and impregnable narrative. That shot though, carries an intoxicating and inspiring taste of cinematic revolution.

RATING: 3/5


INFORMATION

CAST: Héloise Godet, Kamel Abdeli, Richard Chevallier,

DIRECTOR: Jean-Luc Godard

WRITER: Jean-Luc Godard

SYNOPSIS: The idea is simple: A married woman and a single man meet. They love, they argue, fists fly. Fragments of the same story clash and blur exploring love, language and philosophy.