Godard's Passion (1982)
"Passion" (original title)

On a movie set, in a factory, and at a hotel, Godard explores the nature of work, love and film making. While Solidarity takes on the Polish government, a Polish film director, Jerzy, is ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard

Stars:

Isabelle Huppert, Hanna Schygulla, Michel Piccoli

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isabelle Huppert	...	Isabelle
Hanna Schygulla	...	Hanna
Michel Piccoli	...	Michel Boulard
Jerzy Radziwilowicz	...	Jerzy
László Szabó	...	László
Jean-François Stévenin	...	Le machino
Patrick Bonnel	...	Bonnel
Sophie Lucachevski	...	Script-girl
Barbara Tissier
Magali Campos	...	Magali
Myriem Roussel	...	Myriem
Serge Desarnanos
Ágnes Bánfalvy	...	(as Ági Bánfalvi)
Ezio Ambrosetti
Manuelle Baltazar

Storyline

On a movie set, in a factory, and at a hotel, Godard explores the nature of work, love and film making. While Solidarity takes on the Polish government, a Polish film director, Jerzy, is stuck in France making a film for TV. He's over budget and uninspired; the film, called "Passion," seems static and bloodless. Hanna owns the hotel where the film crew stays. She lives with Michel, who runs a factory where he's fired Isabelle, a floor worker. Hanna and Isabelle are drawn to Jerzy, hotel maids quit to be movie extras, people ask Jerzy where the story is in his film, women disrobe, extras grope each other off camera, and Jerzy wonders why there must always be a story.

---

Plot Keywords:

one word title | female nudity | child nudity | long take | nudity | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Switzerland

Language:

French German Polish

Release Date:

26 May 1982 (France)

Also Known As:

Godard's Passion

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sara Films, Sonimage, Films A2

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first choice for cinematographer, through a recommendation from Francis Ford Coppola and Zoetrope films, was Vittorio Storaro. Godard replaced him right before shooting began with Raoul Coutard, whom he hadn't worked with since the mid 1960s.

---

Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une histoire seule (1989)

---

Soundtracks

"Frères humains, L'amour n'a pas d'âge"
Written by Léo Ferré

User Reviews

Godard's Influence

If one were to hold up a camera to life and to film for ninety minutes, the result would be, more than likely, a boring snapshot of the banal and mundane. These snapshots of life would have no narrative, would be disjointed and chaotic, for such is life. Godard's Passion struck me as just that, a snapshot of the banality of life, the disconnected, seemingly meaningless misadventures of ordinary people, captured in one moment of time. But of course, these are not ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, these are the creations of Godard's imagination, yet the presentation of the content of the film is without structure, narrative or any of the Hollywood conventions of 'good filmmaking'. I found the film compelling and intriguing; I wanted to know more about the people and the universe that they populated. The lack of narrative structure was not a negative factor in my enjoyment of the film, for the anarchic content was, of itself, enough to keep my mind from wandering away from it. Godard's reflexive jibes at cinema convention were acerbic and witty, carrying with them a tremendous knowledge of the mechanics of filmmaking. The story of Passion, what story there is, is subservient to the process of filmmaking and Godard's desire to subvert it. For me, that is what makes this film so entertaining.

The influence of Godard's work on other filmmakers is probably most profound in European cinema where the role of the Auteur is, if not quite nurtured, respected. It was a delightful surprise for me when, having seen Passion, I began to draw connections between Godard's storytelling and popular TV comedy. The First Series of the BBC comedy 'The Office', by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, leapt to mind as I mulled over Passion. The non-structure of Passion is very much evident in The Office, where the stories unfold as snapshots and moments in time, captured, and heavily influenced by the presence of the cameras. The Office is probably the most original piece of TV comedy since Monty Python's Flying Circus, yet I can see the influence of filmmakers like Godard in its presentation. Although there exists an A plot, B plot and guest plots, typical TV structure, in The Office, it is the presentation that makes all the difference. If handled in a more traditional fashion, it is highly unlikely that The Office would ever have been made, never mind popular. Even the origins of The Office pay homage to the anti-structural approach of filmmakers like Godard. Conceived and performed as an adlib piece on a BBC director's course by Gervais and Merchant, it shined with originality and a deep knowledge of and healthy disrespect for, convention; much like Godard really.

The success of The Office owes much to its originality and wit but also to the possibility that the audience is searching for a new experience in terms of storytelling both on television and film. The irony is that this type of storytelling has been with us since Godard and long before Godard. Perhaps the audience has finally caught up with the filmmakers.