Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1980)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Anne-Marie Miéville (scenario) and
Jean-Claude Carrière (scenario)

Release Date:

15 October 1980 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An examination of sexual relationships, in which three protagonists interact in different combinations. |

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Female Nudity

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Isabelle Rivière
Jacques Dutronc	...	Paul Godard
Nathalie Baye	...	Denise Rimbaud
Roland Amstutz	...	Second client
Cécile Tanner	...	Cecile
Anna Baldaccini	...	Isabelle's sister
Roger Jendly	...	2nd Guy
Fred Personne	...	First client
Nicole Jacquet	...	Woman
Dore De Rosa	...	Elevator Attendant
Monique Barscha	...	Chanteur d'opéra
Michel Cassagne	...	Piaget
Paule Muret	...	Paul's ex-wife
Catherine Freiburghaus	...	Farm Girl
Bernard Cazassus	...	1st Guy

Also Known As:

Every Man for Himself (USA)
Rette sich, wer kann (das Leben) (West Germany)
Slow Motion (UK)

Runtime:

USA:87 min

Country:

France | Austria | West Germany | Switzerland

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Geneva, Canton Geneva, Switzerland

Company:

Sara Films

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie' (1979)

Soundtrack:

Suicidio!

Godard's return

This was the first feature by Godard after a decade spent experimenting with politics and video. It's as traditional a narrative as we have ever seen from him. The story has three parts. Denise Rimbaud (Baye) represents the imagination; she's a film editor who drops her frustrating work to find some fresh air in the Alps. Paul Godard (Dutronc) is the fearful-dependent side of most of us: he's afraid to leave the city, but can't live without Denise. Then there's business, represented by Isabelle the prostitute (Huppert).

The director, now 50 and with a flagging libido, has a field day with his sexual fantasies. The scene with the two hookers in the businessman's office is wonderfully funny, in its deadpan way it recalls Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'elle. The use of sound is more imaginative; he isn't using the montage of Beethoven quartet snippets that he often relies on. His camera moves more than in the past; there's a great slo-mo of Dutronc jumping over a table to tackle Baye, then they both collapse laughing onto the floor. The sense of freedom suddenly released is exhilarating.