Impale and Cry

An American producer, a German director, and a French screenwriter are sitting in a screening room watching dailies for a new production of The Odyssey. “Gods, I like gods, I like them very much. I know exactly how they feel. Exactly,” says the producer. “Each picture should have a definite point of view,” says the director. “I have a theory about The Odyssey,” says the producer. “I think Penelope has been unfaithful.” The screenwriter mostly keeps his mouth shut. It is a scene from Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt, an adaptation of Alberto Moravia’s novel. Jack Palance plays Jerry the vulgar producer, and his face lights up with childish glee when he sees on screen the image of a naked woman, a mermaid tossing and turning in the sea.