LeMépris(Contempt)Connection

Parallels

Camilla vs. Camille wrapped in red towel

Camilla vs. Camille wrapped in red towel

Headshots of Camilla/Camille

 headshot of Camilla 

movie cover with Camille

Camille with wig on

Camille in a sparsely-filled theatre with her wig on

Stage performance

stage dancers casting intersecting shadows, singer with mike

Adam KesherJean-Luc Godard

 Adam Kesher                          Jean-Luc Godard

  • The last scene of the movie is the filming of the movie. Godard, the real director of the movie says "silence" in French which is translated by the movie set interpreter over a megaphone to "Silenzio". After it is uttered, the final scene fades into silence.

  • The second scene in both movies involves a red or red-lit bed.

  • Contempt's main character is Camille.

  • Camille wraps herself in large red towel after her bath just as Rita does after her shower.

  • In MD we hear Spanish at the party, and at Club Silencio we hear English, French and Spanish. In Contempt, we have a German director, an American Producer, a French scriptwriter in an Italian theatre. There we hear English, French and Italian.

  • Camille (Brigitte Bardot) who is a blonde puts on a dark wig and looks through the mirror at herself. Lynch has a dark-haired Rita to wear a blonde wig and to look in the mirror at herself. Camille is French – the Italian (dark-haired) version of her name would be Camilla. 

  • The Contempt poster is reminiscent of Camilla's photo résumé.

  • Camille quotes from a book on Fritz Lang:
    "Crimes of passion serve no purpose. I love a woman, she cheats on me, I kill her. What’s left for me? I lost the one I love, since she’s dead. If I kill her lover, she hates me, and I still lose her. Killing is never a solution."

  • We see blues and reds everywhere just as we do in MD. This is a major visual pattern in Contempt.

  • Failing electricity. Paul and Camille have a back and forth argument while the light of the lamp (under the shade) goes to different levels of intensity. Failing electricity is a favorite image of DL’s which he uses in MD (corral scene) as well as in Blue Velvet (the failed elevator).

  • Camille sits in a sparsely-filled theatre with her wig on. We see a woman on stage wearing a red dress lip-syncing badly to a recording over some very poor speakers (with a single mike on the stage, she doesn’t need. MD – Camilla with blond wig in the audience, woman in a red dress lip-syncing very well to a recording over a great speaker system. Also, the sound cuts out when someone in their party decides to talk.

  • Godard's film is about film, about falling out of love, about a script writer who is being asked to compromise.

  • Contempt involves the troubles in making a film version of Homer's "Odyssey", while Mulholland Dr. involves the troubles in making a film called "The Sylvia North Story".

  • Contempt takes place in 1963 - "The Sylvia North Story" takes place in the early '60s.

  • In Contempt we hear the assistant (Francesca) say, "Jerry (the producer) nearly fired everyone.", referring to the movie that is being made. This also occurs in MD when Jason (the producer) fires nearly everyone. Both in this movie and MD, the director is not fired.

  • Camille gets into an early 60's convertible with a film producer who makes a pass at her - Camilla gets into an 40's convertible with a film director who kisses her.

  • Both, Camilla and Camille get into a near-to-impossible car crash.

  • Contempt is a French film, partly made by American money - Mulholland Dr. is an American film, partly made by French money.

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