Jean-Luc Godard’s Last Film ‘The Image Book’ Reimagined in Shinjuku Exhibition

An exhibition reimagining the final feature film by legendary filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard will be held in Tokyo this summer. Titled Sentiments Signes Passions, à propos du Livre d’image, J.L. Godard, the show will run from July 4 (Friday) to August 31 (Sunday) at the Ōjō Building in Kabukichō, Shinjuku.

The exhibition reconstructs The Image Book (2018)—Godard’s last full-length film—as a multi-screen video installation. Originally composed of five chapters, the film is a dense collage reflecting on more than a century of human history, war, religion, and art through layered cinematic references. The work received the Special Palme d’Or at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, a unique honor created specifically to recognize its innovation.

In this reimagined format, scenes from the film are fragmented and reshuffled, projected across numerous screens throughout the exhibition space. The nonlinear presentation allows visitors to move freely through the installation, engaging with disjointed images and sounds in a way that reflects Godard’s own cinematic perspective—free from the conventional constraints of time and narrative.

The exhibition is curated by Swiss filmmaker Fabrice Aragno, who served as Godard’s longtime collaborator in cinematography, sound, and editing, beginning with Film Socialisme (2010). Aragno, who also produced The Image Book, describes the exhibition as “an expanded version of the film’s editing suite, extended into a world of its own.” He adds, “Visitors will become the cursor of time themselves, wandering a cinematic forest and choosing their own viewing experience.”

The exhibition invites both longtime admirers of Godard and newcomers to step inside a space shaped by the filmmaker’s singular vision—one last journey through his world of images.

The exhibition, which has already been held in Germany, Switzerland, and other countries, has been known for creating site-specific installations that make full use of each venue’s unique character. The upcoming Tokyo edition will take place at Ōjō Building in Kabukichō—a distinctively designed structure modeled after a castle, which has stood as a symbolic presence in the neighborhood since its completion in 1964. A new exhibition space tailored to the building’s atmosphere is being constructed to further draw out the interplay between Godard’s artistic vision and the site’s architectural charm.

To support the event, a crowdfunding campaign is currently underway until Saturday, May 31. One of the rewards includes a replica of The Image Book screenplay notebook—limited to 1,500 copies—meticulously handcrafted by Fabrice Aragno himself, who handled every post-printing detail from cutting the paper to stamping each copy.

In August, during the exhibition period, Scenario, the film Godard completed the day before his death, will also be screened. The work consists of two parts: an 18-minute collage film and a documentary segment in which Godard shares his own creative vision. Aragno appears in the cast as well, making this an even more personal and poignant farewell from the legendary director.