San Francisco International Film Festival 20 April - 04 May 2006

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For almost a decade, the controversial, eclectic French director, Godard, has been artistically dedicated to the cinema of political commitment. His genius has never been totally submerged by the headier works, but there have been instances in which the lessons to be assimilated through cinema invaded the realm of the academic lectern. One can never accuse Godard for not moving with the times, and his devotion to social and political change, not only within his own country but throughout the world—his willingness to stake his artistic reputation upon his convictions—these characteristics have won him the admiration of his fellow artists and the younger generation everywhere. Tout va Bien is the first film on which Godard has worked since his serious traffic accident last year, and he shared directorial duties with Jean-Pierre Gorin, a young writer who also collaborated with Godard on Pravda and Vladimir and Rosa, two political films not widely seen in America. Like most of Godard’s work, the film was made on a limited budget, but unlike the others, Tout va Bien has two famous cinema stars in the cast. Yves Montand and Jane Fonda enact leaders of a labor uprising in a large factor in France; their presence is as much as tribute to Godard as a presentation of their political positions, or, a dramatization of the question: "What role should intellectuals play in revolution?" In a printed prologue released to the public regarding Tout va Bien, Godard expressed his own suggestions for the spectator: “Rather than expand on the shortcomings and qualities of our film, we would prefer to invite journalists to make the effort with us of analyzing the attached document: a photo of Jane Fonda in Vietnam, published by L’Express in August 1972. It seems to us that by trying to find out what is wholly or partly good about this photo, and thus what is good for whom and against whom, there is an opportunity for a fascinating debate for any spectators; that is, any reader of news in the wide sense of the term (and, quoting, Marx) those who are not afraid of trifles for they want to learn something new and thus, in consequence, think for themselves... that we propose that (the spectator) really study the actual role of a capitalist and anti-capitalist news at present... in an age generally inclined to revolution. There is a lot to be said. We are here for that.”

—Albert Johnson

Copyright © 2006 San Francisco Film Society