This week in class the topic of cool is cool love. We sat down to watch the movie of Jules et Jim at 6:00 pm central standard time, the movie ended at 7:45. At this time I couldn't help but just sit there and ask my self "Is the movie over? What was that? What just happened?" I understand that the film was part of the French new wave film movement, and I also know that many people feel that this film is wonderful and cool... but I just didn't get it. I did enjoy that way that François Truffaut was able to take the pieces of stock footage that he had and use it to his liking, this tactic was able to pull together clips from actual war footage and other places to convey the feeling that Truffaut wanted. The way that the film was made and the ideas that were behind the production were definitely cool.
As for the story being cool... I'm just not seeing it. The only thing that I saw cool in in the movie was the friendship that Jules and Jim shared. One was German and one was French, during the war, the only thing they were worried about were not killing the other. No matter what, they were friends. There friendship doesn't change until Catherine appears. They both like her, but Jules asks Jim not to go after her, which Jim obliges. They treat her like a queen for a while, and they are all content. Everything seems cool for a while until after the war, then we find out Catherine's true nature. Catherine does what she does when she does it. This quality could be seen as cool, but she does not care who she hurts in the process. This little factor takes away part of what makes her cool. I see cool as a force like karma, you add the good and bad and if it is positive you are cool. Catherine just had to many negative actions for me to view her as cool. Then she turns completely crazy and pulls a gun on Jim, someone she said she loved. Not only that, she drives both of them off a bridge, not cool. The movie just has to many points that I see as not being cool for me to say that it was cool.
I completely agree with you. How were any of the characters cool? Jim and Catherine were horrible. I felt pity for Jules, but I definitely did not think he was cool.
ReplyDeleteEmileigh! We aren't alone in our confusion! I actually did not find any of the characters cool. Do you think that Truffaut was trying to highlight the coolness of the friendship rather than the friends?
ReplyDeleteI have to agree as well, there was definitely a lack of coolness in the movie. I do like the idea of the coolness of the idea of friendship. It would be an interesting concept to discuss.
ReplyDeleteWhat about all the carefree bliss that Catherine brought them at first?
ReplyDeleteIs there not something cool about love that only exists with certain moments? Sure it might not be cool to live for these moments, aren't they more important the the rest of life?