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Paula (Cristiana Tullio-Altan) is an idialistic young woman full of
revolutionary, socialist ideas who doesn't realize how dependant she is
from her burgeois background still. Sure, her heart's in the right place,
but she still needs money, needs to be fed, wants an ordinary (sexual)
relationship, and basically a comfortable life - which just can't be built
on revolutionary ideas alone. Storywise of course, Struggles
in Italy hasn't aged too well, as while the socialist ideology might
not have changed over the years, the needs of the working class have, the
approach to socialism has, as has the way to reach its goals. And heck,
even Jean-Luc Godard's views on socialism have. So naturally, this film
(like many overtly political films) has to be seen as a product of and
document of its time. What's quite remarkable though is the film's
cinematic language that refuses to create a straight-forward drama,
instead relies on long static shots that often don't even show the
protagonists, lets the protagonist talk in slogans rather than realistic
dialogue, and refuses itself to narrative flow as we know it - to quite
fascinating results, really. That said, it's not one of Godard's
masterpieces - but a highly interesting footnote for his followers for
sure, and definitely worth seeing for all who have grown tired of
straightforward narrative filmmaking for sure.
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