La Petit Soldat (October 17th and 18th at the Cleveland Cinematheque)

[LE PETIT SOLDAT screens Thursday October 17th at 6:45 pm and Friday October 18th at 9:35 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Review by Charles Cassady, Jr.

I could get to learn to like this Jean-Luc Godard person. I must confess, the first time I saw BREATHLESS, in the context of a college film class, when I was still young enough to be stupidly optimistic about things, my reaction was that of an unimpressed disciple of the Lucas/Spielberg generation. So this is the great Godard I've heard so much about? This is BREATHLESS that shook the film world? Security-camera-like BW cinematography? Ragged editing? No sound or crude audio in long bits? Little evident budget (Eiffel Tower in the background...so what? These guys lived there anyway). Godard's French New Wave masterpiece just left me cold.