Contempt

The word contempt is defined as a feeling that someone or something is not worthy of any respect or approval and also the state of being despised. Contempt the film, written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard uses the title as a device for graphing the plot of the story. This strategy begins to open the door on the satirical drama between the characters relationships in the film.

The opening scene where Camille and Paul are lying in bed together and she questions if he loves every part of her body details their relationship and builds irony for what unravels later in the film. Also this exchange of what part of her body does he like best has some undertones that speak directly to how a woman's body is objectified. Small lines of dialogue from this scene from Camille such as, “gently Paul not so hard” creates the notion that Paul was deeply expressing his love and affection towards Camille with a kiss that was exposing that Paul can’t contain his lust for Camille, because they are in love.   

Tensions arises between the couple after Paul neglects his wife. This scenario is reflective of the story within the film.

A theory form Fritz Lang about the Greek tragedy The Odyssey heavily relates to the status of Paul and Camille and how Contempt is a film with similar connotations.  

“They always said that Penelope went back to Ulysses but maybe deep down Ulysses had gotten really fed up with Penelope. That’s why he did the Trojan war and he no longer felt like going home, and he made his trip as long as possible discussing mans fate. He used the Trojan war to get away from his wife. Penelope despised him because the husband was seemingly not being possessive of her.

She discovered that she stopped loving him because of Ulysses conduct.”

It’s evident in the film that Camille was expressing similar longing for possessiveness from Paul. The back and forth bickering over going to Capri, Camille’s irritability over being around the American Producer (a suitor) , Paul taking on a challenging job (assuming absence), are all moments that clarify that the film is an artistic expression on another version of how The Odyssey could be interpreted.

“Even in our relationships with those we love, you aspire to a world like in Homers. You want it to exist but unfortunately it doesn’t, why not?”

This quote from Paul towards the end of the film is complex and foreshadows the confusing state he is endearing. If it were a world of Homers, one where you could kill your wife’s suitors would it really be a better world?

Earlier in the film this quote comes up, I think it is from Fritz Lang but I am not certain.

 “A Greek Tragedy was negative in that it made man a victim of fate as

Embodied by the gods, who abandoned him to his hopeless destiny. Man can rebel against things that are bad, that are false, he must rebel when were trapped by circumstance, conventions. But I don’t think murder is a solution. Crimes of passion serve no purpose. I’m in love with a woman. She cheats on me. I kill her.

So what do I have left, I lost the only love because she died, if I kill her lover, she hates me and I still lose her love. Killing can never be a solution.”

This quote is very ironic to how the film concluded. The producer and Camille died together in a very cinematic car crash.

Camille and her anti-damsel in distress attitude while still eluding to the classic females role in film to be beautiful and stunning expresses how Godard was trying to reconstruct how women are to be and behave in film. Bardot is often used as a sex symbol in films but in Contempt it feels her character is exposing herself on her own terms not for male figures in the film. She swears, smokes, and isn't afraid of leaving her husband, shes living her life on her own terms. I loved Camille's style all throughout the film. Her hair was a perfect balance of messy and chic.  Seriously, that's some iconic style. 

There were many eye catching shots of Bardot almost to the point of it being completely and obviously unnecessary. The aesthetic of the shots using CinemaScope allowed for the apartment to become a character in the film as well, and had me feeling a little like a fly on the wall capturing a mundane personal conflict between the intimate couple.  The simple white walls and symbolic contrasting details like the red couch and towel are commenting on French culture. Exploring and theorizing on why human relationships churn and burn and why it is worthy of making a film about makes me more attuned to the interactions I have with people and culture on a daily basis. 

------My favorite shot------