Summary
At a Swiss lakeside resort, a book publisher investigates a mysterious tale. The
story goes that a god-like being entered the body of a man, Simon, to experience physical
love with his wife, Rachel. Did this actually happen or is Rachel just covering
up her infidelity to Simon?
Review
This film is a modern retelling of the famous Greek legend where the god Zeus assumes
human form to seduce a mortal woman by impersonating her husband. As the film's
gentle introduction suggests, through a simple parable, this is a film which explores
the disturbing and profound issue of what human existence is for in a godless universe.
This is certainly not Godard’s most accessible film and it would be easy to dismiss it
as confused, incoherent nonsense. There is no strong central narrative, all of the
principal characters are eerily detached and underdeveloped, and some of the quirky Godardisms
(such as the voice of the mysterious god-like being, reminiscent of the computer in Alphaville
) are a little off-putting. Despite that, this remains a strangely fascinating
and profound work of cinema which further confounds the enigma that is Jean-Luc Godard.
This is probably one of those films which you have to watch at least five times to appreciate
fully. But, for the patient, it is a film worth seeing. It broaches themes
which are major concerns for society, indeed for humanity, themes which have growing importance
as our world becomes more mechanised and atheistic. Human existence has some meaning
- must have some meaning - but in a universe where there is no God, where mankind has
the power to explain so much, what can that meaning be? It is a question which this
film scarcely begins to answer, but it is all the more remarkable for what it does manage
to say, because so few other film directors are prepared to venture down this avenue.
© James Travers 2000
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