Notre Musique

Part poetry, part journalism, part philosophy, Jean-Luc Godard’s Notre Musique, is a meditation on war as seen through the prisms of cinema, text and image. Largely set at a literary conference in Sarajevo, the film draws on the conflagration of the Bosnian war, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the brutal treatment of Native Americans and the legacy of the Nazis. Structured into the three Kingdoms of Dante’s Divine Comedy – Hell, Purgatory and Heaven – Notre Musique sees real-life literacy figures (including Arab poet Mahmoud Darwich and Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo) intermingle with actors and documentary mesh with fiction. The film also follows the parallel stories of two Israeli women, Judith Lerner who is drawn to the light, and Olga Brodsky, who is drawn towards darkness. Through evocate language and images, Godard spins an elaborate piece which shows forces moving in eternal opposition and confirms his position as one of the cinema’s greatest directors.

Cast:
Sarah Adler (Judith Lerner)
Nade Dieu (Olga Brodsky)
Rony Kramer (Ramos Garcia)
Simon Eine (Ambassador)

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Writer: Jean-Luc Godard
Runtime: 76 min
Genre: Drama, History
Language: French, Arabic, English, Hebrew, Serbian, Spanish
Subtitles: English
Production Year: 2004