Jean-Luc Godard on Notre Musique

CANNES, 21 May 2004—Director Jean-Luc Godard was in Cannes with his new film, Notre Musique, screening out of competition. Earlier in the week he gave a press conference that began with a long speech by Olivier Derousseau, a spokesperson for the self-employed actors and technicians currently in discussions with the French government. Here are several notable remarks by the French director.

Jean-Luc Godard on the decision to film in Sarajevo: “This film is at the same time personal and impersonal. I was brought up with a European education. I am for borders, but against the border police [...] I like going to see the victims, the wounded – it probably comes from my father who was a doctor. Once a war is said to be over [...] the journalists no longer visit. That's where purgatory begins. Purgatory is a metaphor of life [...] To speak like Tolstoy, it's not me who chose Sarajevo, but Sarajevo that chose me.”

Jean-Luc Godard on subtitling films: “Subtitles allow viewers to believe that they are in some way in their own country. But for this film it's annoying because the viewer who reads subtitles is not listening to the language of others. Those who watch a film while reading subtitles in fact only see about 5-6 percent of the film.”
Jean-Luc Godard on mixing fictional characters and real people: “I try not to make a difference between actors and people you film for a documentary. More and more I choose actors because of something about them, about their lives.”

Jean-Luc Godard on music in the film: “A few years ago I was sent some records by a record company in Germany. The music on them evoked a place to which we had to go. We followed them, a little like the star over the stable.”


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