Jean-Luc Godard once said in an interview in the magazine Cahiers du Cinema during the 1980s that 1960's "A Bout de Souffle (Breathless)" was his least favorite of his own films. The interviewer responded that he understood, and that the problem with Godard's first, most watched and most commercially acclaimed feature was that he'd made it "too entertaining."
Despite what the pair agreed, for many, "Breathless" remains among the most watchable of Godard's works. It had romance to burn, oodles of style, and it featured two of the most memorable faces in the film industry of the era: Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Fast-forward half a century and the latest in an incredible lineage of films from the house of Godard is "Film Socialisme." Romance? None. Style? Not anything recognizable as such. Memorable faces? Godard actually refuses to show most of his actors' faces upfront. "Film Socialisme" is his 90th title since "Breathless" and, if nothing else, it comes off as a manifesto of his staunch refusal to entertain the audience, ever. In fact, anyone coming to this film after a steady diet of blockbusters is likely to break a tooth or two on its rock-hard texture and run screaming from the theater.