The first time I ever saw "Numero Deux" was the last time a movie almost had me in tears, - 'cause it's desperate. Done on video "Numero Deux" was Godard's attempt to overcome the - as he had put it himself - "End of cinema", Godard himself having blown it to pieces in "Pierrot le Fou" and "Weekend". "Numero Deux" was to be a new beginning, a new "Breathless" (which was number one), - but absolutely NOTHING seems to be working. "Numero Deux" is a shipwreck of a movie. The over-all "theme" or premise of the movie can be summed up like this: What the American were doing in Vietnam can be compared to a husband anally raping his wife. Because of it, both of them - Vietnam as well as the wife - now have bowel problems. Hardly the most convincing analogy, I am sure you all agree, and Godard seems to have great difficulties figuring out what to do with it. HE is the one who cannot deliver, and a lot of the time we see him just sitting there, arguing with himself, like a guy stuck in a public restroom. It's pathetic, and it's sad. It's one of my all time favorite movies.
Review of Number Two
