La Transversale : Unknown history of cinema on french television

France/Tour/Détour/Deux/Enfants

Jean-Luc Godard / Anne-Marie Miéville

1978
France
5h12
Documentary
Col.
in french

In this astonishing twelve-part project for and about television — the title of which refers to a 19th-century French primer Le tour de la France par deux enfants — Godard and Miéville take a detour through the everyday lives of two children in contemporary France.

This complex, intimately scaled study of the effect of television on the French family is constructed around Godard's interviews with a school girl and school boy, Camille and Arnaud. Godard's provocative questions to the children range from the philosophical ("Do you think you have an existence?") to the social ("What does revolution mean to you?"). The programs' symmetrical structure alternates between Camille's and Arnaud's segments (or "movements"), each of which is labeled with on-screen titles: Obscur/Chimie is paired with Lumiere/Physique; Réalitie/Logique with Réve/Morale; Violence/Grammaire with Désordre/Calcul.

(from Electronic Arts Intermix website)

Episodes:
1: Obscur / Chimie (Dark / Chemistry)
2: Lumière / Physique (Light / Physics)
3: Connu / Géométrie / Géographie (Known / Geometry / Geography)
4: Inconnu / Technique (Unknown / Technique)
5: Impression / Dictée (Impression / Dictation)
6: Expression / Français (Expression / French)
7: Violence / Grammaire (Violence / Grammar)
8: Désordre / Calcul (Disorder / Calculus)
9: Pouvoir / Musique (Potential / Music)
10: Roman / Économie (Romance / Economy)
11: Réalité / Logique (Reality / Logic)
12: Rêve / Morale (Dream / Morale)

Cast
Betty Berr, Albert Dray, Arnaud Martin, Camille Virolleaud
Screenplay
Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Miéville, d'après le roman de G. Bruno
Photography
Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Miéville
Sound
Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Miéville
Editing
Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Miéville
Production
Sonimage, Antenne 2, INA-Institut National de l'Audiovisuel

Films in the Retrospective

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