‘Le Mépris’ (which translates as ‘Contempt’) is a film by French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard (‘Breathless’) that was released in 1963. Brigitte Bardot became a star and an international sex symbol following her role in ‘And God Created Woman’ (1956), and she is at the height of her powers here. Bardot features alongside much-loved French actor Michel Piccoli as well as Hollywood player Jack Palance (‘City Slickers’).
Although a French film, ‘Le Mépris’ is shot in Rome and Capri using an international cast. Michel Piccoli plays Paul Javal, a writer who has been offered a bigger cheque than usual for working on German director Fritz Lang’s screenplay for his latest movie, an adaptation of the Homeric legend ‘The Odyssey’. Keen to impress the vulgar American producer Prokosch (Jack Palance), Paul suggests that his wife Camille (Brigitte Bardot) should ride in the producer’s two-seat sports car. Camille feels as if she is being offered to the producer simply to advance her husband’s career prospects. When she also suspects him of infidelity, her love for Paul dwindles at a time when he wants to focus on his career, creating tensions between the couple.
‘Le Mépris’ is a distinctly French film, eschewing a Hollywood approach for fast-paced storytelling for a languorous study of marital relations. It uses metatextual techniques by featuring Fritz Lang, the legendary director of ‘M’ and ‘Metropolis’, as a fictional version of himself, shooting a film that he never made in reality. The opening shot reveals director Jean-Luc Godard filming Brigitte Bardot on a tracking shot as they make the movie. The famous Roman film studio Cinecitta forms the backdrop of some of the key sequences. Large posters for other major movies of the era, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’, can be seen in the key sequence where Camille is persuaded to ride with Prokosch. There are also scenes in cinemas. The audience is constantly reminded that they are watching an artificially-constructed story. The characters we follow are making a film within the film that we’re watching… That’s not to say that the plot is complex. If you understand French or can read subtitles, the story is simple to follow, but the background of a filmmaker’s world is always reinforced.
The star is undoubtedly Brigitte Bardot. Whether in blonde or brunette wigs, she is sultry and captivating. The camera certainly loves her. She comes across more sympathetically than Michel Piccoli who plays her weak and selfish husband, though he has a certain charm. Although Jack Palance later won an Academy Award, he’s one of those very successful actors whom I’ve always found to be rather awkward and self-conscious, as if he doesn’t quite know what to do with his hands and is constantly aware that he is being filmed (not always a problem in this picture). Perhaps it’s just that Bardot and Piccoli have a natural and easy chemistry, which the addition of Palance unbalances, but his scenes feel overplayed.
Although there is a deliberate choice to go for a ponderous pace to allow the characters the space to breathe, some of the scenes, especially those that take place in the Javals’ rented apartment, don’t sustain their own weight and become tedious, especially if you’re not tuned in to European cinematic techniques. The footage of Fritz Lang’s ‘Odyssey’ is curious too. The bronze statues are effective, if overused, but the actors in costumes jumping in and out of the sea look faintly ridiculous. It’s curious that the great cinematic visionary was happy to play along.
What works rather better in the film’s favour is the incredible cinematography by Raoul Coutard, which beautifully captures a European summer of the early 1960s. Much of the filming in Capri takes place at Casa Malaparte, a remote and peculiar house designed by Adalberto Libera. The steps leading up to the flat rooftop where Bardot sunbathes and the large windows overlooking the sea are distinctive and unforgettable. The location becomes almost a character in its own right. A sumptuous score by Georges Delerue also adds to the atmosphere and aesthetics of the piece. Overall, ‘Le Mépris’ is a reminder that the Swinging Sixties incorporated continental Europe as well as the UK and USA.
The new 4K restoration of ‘Le Mépris’ looks stunning. It is incredible to think that there has been an interval of six decades since the film’s creation. Star Brigitte Bardot remains around to this day, whereas director Jean-Luc Godard and male lead Michel Piccoli died only recently. The picture quality is sharp and the colours are fantastically vivid. When contrasted with the black and white footage of Bardot at Casa Malaparte in the extra feature ‘Il était une fois’ (‘it was one time’), it’s possible to fully appreciate how good the film looks in high definition.
Cast: Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Palance, Fritz Lang Director: Jean-Luc Godard Writer: Jean-Luc Godard Certificate: 15 Duration: 99 mins Released by: Studiocanal Release date: 26th June 2023 Buy ‘Le Mépris’
