Jean-Luc Godard's Hail Mary

Maryel Locke and Charles Warren present twelve original essays by film critics, filmmakers, theologians, and philosophers that examine the 1985 film Hail Mary, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, and its companion film, The Book of Mary, directed by Anne-Marie Mieville. (The films are released under the one title Hail Mary) The interpretative essays offer a rich spectrum of analysis and opinion representing many divergent points of view about critical theory, the status of women, and the value of film as a medium. Locke and Warren also include two important interviews with Godard, brief biographies and complete filmographies of Godard and Mieville, a shot breakdown of the two films with the English subtitles, and the script of the French dialogue to complete a remarkably comprehensive treatment of these important films. The only film based on the biblical story of the Virgin Mary, Godard's Hail Mary is a contemporary Swiss/French representation of Mary's virgin pregnancy, the birth of her son, and her relationship to Joseph and her young child. Mieville's companion film is about a young girl named Mary whose parents get a divorce. While neither film is overtly religious, the initial relea