(Will use this to represent the entire Histoire(s) du Cinema.)

Histoire(s) du cinema is Jean-Luc Godard’s 8 part, 4 hour long masterpiece on the history, histories, story and stories of cinema. Simulataneously, the film (although not really a film) dwelves into Godard’s personal memories and admissions. So technically, this is 8 stories wrapped together.

But the distinction between these stories are never clear. The entire tale is told in a stream of consciousness style, with quotations of films (both image, sound and text) coming one after the other without explanation, seemingly Godard recording his memories of cinema around certain ideas.

The ideas are certainly very intriguing. He mourns the death of cinema and the 20th century, slams television yet expounds on the evils of cinema. And in parts 3(a), 3(b) and 4(a), he actually focuses on a singular topic, which are Italian neorealism, the Nouvelle vague and Hitchcock respectively. Certainly a man in his position has many insights to divulge and this film does not disappoint.

To end part 4(b), he cites two powerful metaphors that will stay with me for somewhile. The first one: A hawker arrives in a small village and announces that the world is going to end. Subsequently, a horrible storm sweeps the town. But a few days later it ends and the hawker is thrown out of the village. The hawker is cinema. The second one: A man falls asleep and dreams of paradise. He is given a flower to confirm the existence of this paradise. He wakes up with the flower in his hand. That man was Jean-Luc Godard.

Histoire(s) du cinema, a beautiful and poetic condemnation and celebration of cinema and Godard.