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2/10
Long-Winded Marxist Tract is Condescendingly Inept
28 July 2024
French director Jean-Luc Godard sinks to the level of inept propagandist with this ludicrous political tract. Sloppy documentary footage shot in a British auto factory is accompanied by a condemnation of capitalism on the grounds that the workers cannot afford the cars they work on. Occasionally, the camera cuts to a naked torso, symbolizing women's oppression, and a group of prosaic young Maoists. In the name of revolution, the film extols war, repression, and flag-waving -- the very things it condemns capitalism for. The soundtrack and visuals of the film are fervently Marxist, frequently using voice-overs where narrators teach slogans and revolutionary history to a child who repeats them by rote. This approach suggests a patronizing view of the audience, treating them as children in need of education. The film contrasts Hollywood and revisionist Russian films with the ideal revolutionary films Godard and his collaborators aim to create. The narrator claims a revolutionary film is like a blackboard for political debate, but this is undermined by the film's didactic and condescending tone, which hinders genuine discussion.
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