Does anyone know what Velasques paintings Godard reffers to in this film, and any opinions on "why"?
He also reffers to Velasques in Pierrot le Fou (opening scene- Pierrot reads a long text while in the bathtub)..... he says: "Velasques is the painter of evening, of open spaces and of silence".
i'm writing about the silence in Godard's films, so i'd love to read about any connections people have in mind...
thanx!!!
I`ve seen "Passion" a few times ,but can`t remember the Velasquez painting. The main paintings represented are by Rembrandt, Ingres, Delacroix and Ingres. As someone who has seen most of Godard (it is difficult ,if not impossible, to see everything)I think the topic of silence in Godard is a fiendishly difficult one ,as Godard is about the least silent of all directors. For him sound is as privileged ,if not more so,than the image and as a consequence his soundtrack is constantly busy with dialogue,voice-over,on and off-screen sounds,music,of course. The only silences I can recall are the one minute silence in "Bande a part" and certain quiet,pastoral sequences in "Sauve qui peut" and "Je vous salue,Marie." But little else...sorry.
sharethanx for answering!!
you're right about velasquez. he isn't in "passion", only in "pierrot la fou"..
regarding the silence, it's a realy interesting topic because Godard actually used it a lot in the 60's and 70's, and it's part of his dialects in the sound montage. many of the films show documentary footage of Paris with no sound at all. but, of course i noticed the extent of silence only after seeing the films with this in mind.
He also speaks a lot about silence, and of course there are many different kinds of silence, like the silent interviewer in "tout va bien".
the minute (36 sec) of silence is what got me on this topic. maybe it's my favorit Godard scene. it's amazing how he's still in many ways avangard to the cinema of the 21 century, and still holds the status of being "classic".
i wasn't thinking of writing about pastoral silence, i'll check it out, thanx!
I might also add that the main painting referenced in the film is by Goya- "The Third of May, 1808."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_of_May_1808
hey dude, regarding the silence, watch this Godard's Trailer, it might give you an idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnisklaDaaU