Bardot's magnificent performance as Camille Javal [she was so good that her character's name was later believed to be her real name!], wife of the aspiring screenwriter Paul (nicely played by a young Michel Piccoli) merely confirmed what Clouzot's "La Verite" (1960) had already established, viz., that B.B. was a highly talented actress and not merely a lovely sex kitten pimped by ex-husband Vadim to titillate the fantasies of horny international audiences. "le Mepris" ("Contempt") is a jewel cut by France's leading "Nouvelle Vague" director Jean-Luc Godard, and intended (says his outstanding cinematographer Raoul Coutard) as an apologetic testimonial to Godard's estranged wife Anna Karina. This is a film about film-making in the 1960's, and about the stresses on personal relationships provoked by the pursuit of cinema's world of illusion.[the presence of the great Fritz Lang playing himself authenticates the theme]. Paul Javal (his constant wearing of a hat is the clue to his partial representation of Godard) is a man whose artistic sensibility and individuality have yet to be shaped, and who uses Camille as an instrument to achieve self-identity. But Camille is a goddess, a force of nature, and her total love for Paul slowly disintegrates in the course of the creative "mind games" he selfishly makes her endure. (One such is the marvelously erotic opening scene with the softly voices enumerations of her physical assets by a nude Camille: that this is a "game" is shown by her query to "director" Paul whether she should rise on her knees to continue...There are many such indicators throughout the film. See for instance Camille's fleeting smile ar Paul in Prokosch's garden at minute 26:28.)As the story unfolds, pretended reality is remorselessly transformed into "real" reality, and Camille's staged contempt into an actual rejection of a husband who is revealed to be a spineless wimp ("You are not a man" at minute 1:35:19). The accompanying change of Camille's initial dislike of the energetic and crassly domineering producer Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance)into a recognition that this equally potent "god" and force of nature is perhaps worthier of her attention than her hapless husband is also delicately presented by Godard (There is a fascinating scene near the very end where Prokosch shows how his personality is being positively changed by his attraction to Camille, and how he yearns to acquire a gentler image to please her.) But the film is a tragedy on more than one level, and a fatal accident in which both Prokosch and Camille lose their lives prevents any resolution or even development. This is a profound film which needs to be viewed many times, with increasing understanding and appreciation of its complexities. The photography is stunning (esp. the Capri shots), and the wonderfully haunting score by Georges Delerue only increases our viewing pleasure.
