Contempt (Le Mépris)

CONTEMPT

Based on the novel by Alberto Moravia.

Featuring Brigitte Bardot and Michel Piccoli,

Jack Palance and Giorgia Moll,

And Fritz Lang.

Photography by Raoul Coutard.

Music by Georges Delerue.

Sound by William Sivel.

Produced by Philippe Dussart and Carlo Lastricati.

A film by Jean-Luc Godard.

Shot in Cinemascope and printed in colour by GTC Labs.

Produced by Georges de Beauregard and Carlo Ponti for Rome-Paris Films,

Films Concordia and Compagnia Cinematografia Champion.

André Bazin said: "Cinema shows us a world that fits our desires."

Contempt is the story of that world.

I don't know.

Maybe I'll go to Mum's. I don't know what I'll do afterwards.

Come pick me up if you want. At 4 o'clock. At Cinecittà.

I have to talk to that American.

Maybe I will.

- See my feet in the mirror? - Yes.

- Think they're pretty? - Very.

- You like my ankles? - Yes.

And my knees, too?

Yes. I really like your knees.

And my thighs?

And your thighs.

Do you see my bottom in the mirror?

Yes.

Do you think I have nice buttocks?

Yes. Very.

- Shall I get on my knees? - No.

- No need to. - And my breasts. You like them?

- Yes, tremendously. - Gently, Paul. Not so hard.

Sorry.

Which do you like better, my breasts or my nipples?

I don't know. Both equally.

- And do you like my shoulders? - Yes.

- I don't think they're round enough. - I do.

And my arms?

And my face?

- And your face. - All of it?

My mouth, my eyes, my nose, my ears?

- Yes, everything. - Then you love me totally.

I love you totally, tenderly, tragically.

So do l, Paul.

Hi. How are you? What's going on? The place is empty!

Jerry fired nearly everybody. Italian cinema is in trouble.

- Where is he? - Over there.

Only yesterday there were kings here.

Princesses, lovers...

All human emotions.

Yesterday he sold everything.

They're going to build a supermarket.

- It's the end of cinema. - I don't think cinema will ever die.

He says you wrote Toto against Hercules. It's doing well in New York.

Not bad.

Don't be modest, You need pride to make good films.

- Do you know The Odyssey? - Your film with Fritz Lang?

- It's not working out. - Why did you hire Lang?

The Odyssey needs a German director because a German discovered Troy.

What should I do?

He needs new scenes for The Odyssey, not only more sex, but more...

Like all producers, he doesn't know.

To know that one doesn't know is the gift of a superior spirit.

Not to know and think that one knows is a mistake.

To know it is a mistake keeps one from making it.

I don't think Lang will accept.

In '33, Goebbels asked Lang to head the German film industry. Lang left Germany.

This is not '33 and Mr. Prokosch knows you'll do the job.

Why?

He'll tell you during the projection. This way.

So... Why?

- Because you need money. - How does he know?

He was told you have a very beautiful wife.

Each film should have a definite point of view.

It's the eternal problem of the ancient Greeks.

It's a fight against the gods. The fight of Ulysses.

This is Minerva, isn't it?

She's Ulysses' protector.

And that's Neptune, his mortal enemy.

Mr. Prokosch likes gods.

He knows how they feel.

Look, that's Homer.

The gods did not create man, man created gods.

It's a mermaid.

That's art, but will the public understand?

- Who's that? - Penelope.

Mr. Prokosch has a theory about The Odyssey.

He thinks Ulysses' wife was unfaithful.

O my brothers, who braved 100,000 perils to reach the West,

don't refuse to know, by following the sun, the uninhabited world.

"Consider your origin. You were not born to live as brutes,

but to pursue virtue and knowledge."

- Have you heard that before? - Yes, it's very famous. Dante.

"Night then looked all the stars.

Ourjoy soon turned to tears

until the sea closed in on us."

- I'm Paul Javal. Mr. Prokosch... - I know.

It looks swell. I really like Cinemascope.

It wasn't made for people but for snakes and funerals.

What's the matter, Miss Vanini? Is it about the script?

He says it's not the same on screen as on paper.

I'll just see if my wife's arrived.

...the Nazis used to say "revolver" instead of "cheque book".

Are you going to accept the job? Yes or no?

"But Man, when he must, can stand fearless and alone before God.

His candour is his shield. He needs neither arms nor wiles

until such time as God's absence helps him."

- That's Hölderlin, isn't it? -Yes. The Poet's Vocation.

The final line is obscure. Hölderlin originally wrote...

- "So long as God is not present." - And then...

"So long as God is close to us."

The way the last lines are written, when you've read the other two,

is no longer about God's presence.

It's God's absence that reassures Man.

Strange, but true.

How do you say "strange" in Italian?

I'll be back in five minutes.

Meet Mr. Prokosch. Camille, my wife.

- My wife, Camille. - How do you do?

- Fritz Lang. - Hello.

He's the one who did that western with Dietrich.

- It was terrific! - I prefer M.

We just saw it on TV. I really liked it.

Thank you. That's kind of you.

I love the scene when Ferrer leans on the scales.

Thank you. When l finish The Odyssey...

Mr. Prokosch is inviting you for a drink.

I don't know.

- He says you know perfectly. - Me?

Yes, I could have a drink.

Goodbye, I'll phone you. Madam.

We'll go if you want.

Sit down, madam.

- You won't be comfortable... - I'll meet you there.

- Mr. Prokosch will come back for you. - No, I'll grab a taxi.

Let him go on ahead. We can both take a cab.

Make up your mind.

Come on, you go.

What's the address?

- What did he say? - My English is as bad as yours.

We've been waiting half an hour. What kept you?

Nothing. l had an accident...

I was in the cab, and at the corner of the street...

Two cars, you know... The whole bumper was hanging off.

Then the two drivers started shouting at each other.

- I needed another cab. That's why... - That's why, what?

What? Why I'm late. I had to walk God knows how long...

From Saint-Ange to Piazza Venezia to find a cab.

Yeah, it took ages.

Anyway, l don't give a damn. I'm not interested in your story.

It took me 20 minutes.

- You don't believe me. - We'll discuss it later.

I'm going for a walk.

- Come tomorrow to sign the contract. - All right.

Camille, why are you so quiet?

Friday we shoot in Capri. Come with us.

Answer her. Why don't you speak?

- What were you doing before I arrived? - Nothing special.

Why? Did he come on to you?

- Why ask me that? - Just because.

I should wash my hands.

- Where can I wash? - Upstairs, on the right.

- What's the matter? You look down. - Nothing.

Have you been crying?

- Your boss is a hard man. - He is.

Known him long?

- What did he do before movies? - I don't want to talk about it.

I was just asking.

It's stupid to be so sweet and so sad.

Haven't you anything more amusing to say?

More amusing?

A funny story.

Which one shall I tell?

I know, the one about Sri Ramakrishna and his disciple.

Ramakrishna was a Hindu sage.

He had this disciple who didn't believe in his master's teachings anymore.

He decided to study on his own. So he went away.

After 15 years, he came back and said: "I've found it!"

Found what?

He tells the sage: "I'll show you" and takes him to the riverbank.

The disciple crosses back and forth walking on the water.

And he says: "You see? I can cross without getting wet, now I know."

So Ramakrishna replies:

"You fool! I did that 10 years ago with a rupee and a rowboat!"

Feeling better now? That's good.

- Paul. - What?

- Call that washing your hands? - As you can see.

- I was just telling her the joke... - I believe you already.

You're being an idiot.

- Where can I pee? - Up there.

It's a book about Roman paintings, it will help you.

The Odyssey is in Greek.

He knows.

What? About what?

About the money and your wife.

Mr. Prokosch is inviting you for dinner.

I'm tired, I'd rather leave.

Tell them we're leaving.