''Joy of Learning'' (french: Le Gai savoir) is a 1969 film by Jean-Luc Godard. The shooting started before the events of

May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which h ...

and was finished shortly afterwards. Coproduced by the O.R.T.F., the film was upon completion rejected by French national television, then released in the cinema where it was subsequently banned by the French government. The film is an adaptation of '' Emile, or On Education'',

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's treatise on education, and its title is a reference to

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...

's ''

The Gay Science ''The Gay Science'' (german: Die fröhliche Wissenschaft), sometimes translated as ''The Joyful Wisdom'' or ''The Joyous Science'', is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1882, and followed by a second edition in 1887 after the completio ...

''. The film was entered into the

19th Berlin International Film Festival The 19th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June – 6 July 1969. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Yugoslav film '' Rani radovi'' directed by Želimir Žilnik. Jury The following jury members were announced for the fes ...

Plot

Patricia and Émile meet at night in the middle of nowhere. While reading, listening to the radio and discussing the information they are retrieving, they develop mutual beliefs.

Cast

Juliet Berto Juliet Berto (16 January 1947 – 10 January 1990), born Annie Jamet, was a French actress, director and screenwriter. A member of the same loose group of student radicals as Anne Wiazemsky, she first appeared in Jean-Luc Godard's ''Two or Three ...

- Patricia Lumumba *

Jean-Pierre Léaud Jean-Pierre Léaud, ComM (; born 28 May 1944) is a French actor, known for playing Antoine Doinel in François Truffaut's series of films about that character, beginning with ''The 400 Blows'' (1959). He also worked several times with Jean-Luc ...

- Émile Rousseau * Jean-Luc Godard - Narrator (voice)

References

External links

* 1969 films 1960s French-language films 1969 drama films Films directed by Jean-Luc Godard French black-and-white films French avant-garde and experimental films Non-narrative films 1960s French films {{1960s-France-film-stub