Forming Couples

With Contempt (Le mepris), dating from 1963, the French writer and director Jean-Luc Godard (1930-) made his first and much-debated big-budget feature, whose all-star cast included Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Jack Parlance and Fritz Lang. The central theme of the film is the contempt a wife, Camille, suddenly feels for her husband, Paul, bringing to an end the intimate relationship the couple enjoyed. The authorsexamine the appeal of contempt both for Camille and for Godard, turn our attention to the effects of contempt in the world, and explore how contempt affects the range and kinds of movement allowed for in the visual field with which Godard works.