Every Man for Himself (1980 film)
| Sauve qui peut (la vie) Every Man for Himself Slow Motion |
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French poster
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| Directed by | Jean-Luc Godard |
| Produced by | Jean-Luc Godard Alain Sarde |
| Written by |
Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Luc Godard Anne-Marie Miéville |
| Starring |
Jacques Dutronc Isabelle Huppert Nathalie Baye |
| Music by | Gabriel Yared |
| Cinematography |
Renato Berta William Lubtchansky Jean-Bernard Menoud |
| Edited by | Jean-Luc Godard Anne-Marie Miéville |
| Distributed by | MK2 Diffusion |
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Release date
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Running time
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87 minutes |
| Country | France Austria West Germany Switzerland |
| Language | French |
Every Man for Himself (French: Sauve qui peut (la vie)) is a film directed, co-written and co-produced by Jean-Luc Godard. The film stars Jacques Dutronc, Isabelle Huppert, and Nathalie Baye, and the score is by Gabriel Yared. It was filmed in Switzerland. The film premiered at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to garner 620,147 admissions in France. The film was also selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 53rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
The film is divided into three main sections, each focusing on one of the three main characters. A prologue introduces Paul Godard, a filmmaker, and his estranged girlfriend, Denise Rimbaud. After Paul leaves the deluxe Swiss hotel where he is staying and rebuffs the sexual advances of a male hotel attendant, the film shifts to its first proper section, "The Imaginary," and follows Denise as she makes arrangements to work at the newspaper run by an old friend, or perhaps an old lover, in the Swiss countryside. Denise is struggling with her choice of giving up the apartment she shares with Paul and leaving her job at a television station, where Paul also works. She is also trying to begin a new project, possibly a novel. In the course of her arrangements, including securing a room at a farm in the countryside, Denise realizes she is late to pick up the author and filmmaker Marguerite Duras, and telephones Paul to ask if he can do it for her. Despite being put off by Denise's intention to leave him and their apartment, he agrees.
The second section, "Fear," focuses on Paul. After picking up his daughter Cécile from soccer practice (where Paul, seemingly apropos of nothing, asks the soccer coach if he has ever felt like feeling up his own daughter or "fucking her up the ass") the filmmaker fulfills his favor to Denise by picking up Marguerite Duras from a local college. Duras is on campus but will not come into the classroom to speak (though her recorded voice appears on the soundtrack, Duras does not appear in the film). Urged to speak in her place, Paul reads a quote from the author in which she says that she only makes films because she lacks the courage to do nothing. Paul says this is true for himself as well. Arriving at the television station, Paul finds Denise furious that he has not brought Duras with him for a scheduled interview, having honored her wish to take an early flight back to France. Later at dinner, Paul faces an ex-wife that seems only to want her monthly check and a daughter that demands her birthday gift. After once again expressing his alienation with inappropriate sexual innuendo, Paul leaves and meets Denise at a bar, where the two end up quarreling over their relationship. At the end of the evening, Paul meets Isabelle, a prostitute, and takes her home.
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