FRENCH WORDS

Super 8 film footage conjures up a sequence of frustrating attempts that are absurd. An orange is mutilated in a struggle with tools that do not seem to "work." What is trying to be accomplished with the fruit is not clear, and neither are the words of a voicemail heard in French. The absent subtitles and translation is important to the piece in order to convey an absurd interaction and the inability to relate through language alone.

The piece ends with the song, "Roller Girl", performed by Anna Karina in 1967. A personal life is publicly documented: "Karina and Godard married on 3 March 1961, during the shooting of A Woman Is a Woman, and divorced in 1965. Anna is said to have left emotionally unstimulated by Godard's obsession with work. By 1967, they were barely on speaking terms."

The film was originally shot, inspired by a short, "Rilke Elegies," created by Audra Brandt. Kat Palardy - actress and performer, was asked to create and improvise a two-minute monologue. Without any direction, she fabricated a recording of a voicemail message that was then translated into French and performed by Soline Pillet.

IMDB - French Words