Hélas pour moi (1993)

(On Cable TV, February 2021) I had a surprisingly good time watching Hélas pour moi, but that came from an early decision to declare narrative bankruptcy on the film. Anything billed as a “poetic drama” in its log-line is usually a lost cause anyway — the only reason why I had a look at the result was because it was a late effort by writer/director Jean-Luc Godard. It only takes a few minutes into the film to realize that it’s not going to be understandable in any kind of conventional sense: it’s a film that plays on emotions, impressions, visual flourishes and allusions to philosophy and classical literature. Title cards separating the film in chapters or offering odd bits of narration only make the entire film feel even more hermetic if you’re not the director. Over time, I’ve come to make peace with the idea of film as an artistic expression of individual filmmakers (although the inherent elitism of film production costs leading to a class of film gatekeepers still rankles me), even if that does not mean that I’ll like the result. As the languid, pretentious, consciously self-absorbed nature of Hélas pour moi became obvious, I stopped trying to make sense of the film and let it wash over me. To be fair, there’s plenty to look at even if you’re not attempting to make sense of it — a young and trim Gérard Depardieu is the film’s headliner, but Laurence Masliah looks absolutely terrific here at times (the sequence in which she is introduced, off-focus to better feature her wild red mane is just… wow) and Aude Amiot looks nice as well. Are watching French girls a substitute for a strong narrative? Yes, if that’s all the film has. Still, Hélas pour moi does have a few good moments: thanks to Godard’s veteran eye, parts of the film can be appreciated even if you refuse to try to make sense of it. (I was tempted at times to see the film as a parody of a pretentious arthouse film, but it wasn’t worth the effort.)  I’m far, far from recommending the result, but it’s possible to find something to appreciate in nearly anything if you’re creative enough.