Page - 103 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

102 | Vuk Uskoković www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 83–113 ard’s heroes live up to the idea that to talk about a thing is to lose its essence out of sight. And so they don’t talk much. And they are perfectly right, that is, as it were, left. WHAT’S FREEDOM WITHOUT LOVE? As an art critic with training in natural sciences who approaches criticism with a dose of scalar literalness, I would never dare give 10/10 or 0/10 ratings to any- thing. Rather, I praise the keenness that comes from recognizing the taints of imperfection even in the most fantastic of expressions and the humbleness that comes from accepting that even in complete artsy garbage there will be a dia- mond or two to be found. Whoever remembers La paresse (FR 1962), one of Godard’s early shorts and a statement in defense of sloth, the deadly sin that, as Godard showed, could stand in the way of other, deadlier sins and pave the way for morality, can be prompted to recognize beauty even in the trashiest of works and redeem their kitsch with kindness, as pop artists and saintly souls would do anyway. The dangers of dogmatism and idolatry that 10/10 or 0/10 rat- ings lead to need not be mentioned either. This, as you may guess, is a prelude to the claim that, like everything else, Godard’s art abounds with taints of im- perfections. So what would I change in Godard’s films if I could? For one, I would ask him why he was more interested in carpet-bombing the cinema world of his day than in rejuvenating it with new aesthetics pleasing for the soul, an ap- proach that would have earned him the status of a true renaissance master of the new age had he succeeded in it. Then, what if everything that was political in his movies was made poetic? For the resonance of political messages fades Fig. 10: Histoire(s) du cinéma: La Monnaie de l’absolu (Jean-Luc Godard, FR/CH 1998). Super- imposition of the dancer and the dreamer  – which one holds the truth (and beauty)?