Every Man for Himself

The French New Wave had an immense impact on cinema in general. Two of the main people responsible for the success of this phenomena were Jean Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. Both directors had very interesting careers, since their explosives debuts. But where Truffaut was a little more consistent with his films, Godard was all over the place.
Throughout the sixties Jean Luc Godard delivered a unique palette of films that touched on several different subjects but continually attacked politics and the cinema in general. From Breathless to Weekend, Godard never failed to amaze with his films. But after Weekend he went on a different path of filmmaking.
Joining fellow filmmaker Jean Pierre Gorin, Godard formed The Dziga Vertov Group. This group was dedicated to making films like the Russian autuer Dziga Vertov, who's most famous for the great film The Man With the Movie Camera (1929). All through the seventies Godard and Gorin made several films that explored the concept of showing work on the screen.
At the turn of the next decade Godard made a comback. A film he referred to as his second "first" film. That film was Every Man for Himself. It was heavily compared to the energy that Godard showed in his debut film Breathless and was also very autobiographical for Godard.
The film centers around a film director played by Jacques Dutronc, who travels back and forth from town to town to visit his ex-wife and daughter and to work. He lives with his girlfriend in the other town. Throughout his adventures he runs into a prostitute played by Isabelle Huppert, at a movie theater.
Throughout the film Godard examines the sexual exploits of it's three main characters, Dutronc, Huppert, and Natahlie Baye. It also closely examines the role of the father and the artistic rut one gets into from time to time. The film ends tragically as with almost every other Godard film, but it is a delight to watch.
The film is definitely Godard at the top of his form. Very on par with the films he made in the sixties at the height of his career. The camera captures some of the most beautiful nature scenes ever to be seen on film and the characters interact in a special way, even if they are in their own special world. With this film Godard proved that he still had the power of a great filmmaker.
As far as the availbility of this film, there is none in the U.S. However, recently a restored print of this film toured New York and other places. So with the presence of this newly restored print a proper DVD release of this film should be on the horizon. Especially since the recent Olive Films release of Godard's massive documentary on film Histoire(s) du Cinema on DVD. But here's hoping the Criterion Collection gets a hold of this film and releases it. If they do it will join other Godard films: Breathless, Vivre Sa Vie, Pierrot Le Fou, Alphaville, A Woman is a Woman, Masculin-Feminin, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, Made in U.S.A., Contempt, and Tout va Bien.
This is definitely a film that needs to be viewed by any true Godard fan or anybody who appreciates the cinema. It is beautifully filmed movie that nearly jumps off the screen with its characters. Pure Godard.