The éminence grise of French cinema, Jean-Luc Godard tackles nothing less than the history of Europe and intractable conflicts around the globe in his latest profound cine-essay. The first hour of Film Socialisme is set on a Mediterranean cruise ship, which docks in ports in Egypt, Greece, Spain, and Italy, among others; at each stop, passengers reflect on both the horrors of Europe’s past—the Inquisition, the Holocaust—and its uncertain future. In its second half, the focus shifts to a rural gas station whose owners appear to be in the midst of a marital crisis. Yet here, too, larger sociopolitical issues— the Israel-Palestine conflict, for instance—are never far from the characters’ thoughts. Stunningly shot primarily on highdefinition video, Film Socialisme, like all of the great auteur’s works, is a provocative experiment in image and sound, juxtaposing narratives about Europe’s bloody past with shots of the ship’s passengers seeking out pleasure in the vessel’s casino or at the all-you-can eat buffet. Always challenging his viewers, Godard provides deliberately abstract English translations throughout Film Socialisme, inventively complicating meaning and interpretation.