This is often described by critics as Godard's 'Magnum Opus', which is probably a fair assessment when considering his entire body of work. People who only know Godard from his earlier, more high-profile films (Breathless, Pierrot Le Fou, etc.), might find this pretty challenging, but it's definitely in keeping with Godard's later work (In Praise of Love, Film Socialisme, etc.).
Histoire(s) du cinema does not conform to any typical conventions of film, it is a series of non-linear montages, very loosely themed, made up of a wide range of clips from film history and images of other 20th Century artworks. Images, sound and text are all overlapped and multilayered in such a way that it is extremely difficult to 'follow' at times. To genuinely 'understand' every moment of this film would take a huge number of viewings, and it may be better to approach the film like a piece of music, let it wash over you and take in what you can, rather than attempting to dissect it.
The choice of source material is hugely varied, deeply personal to Godard, and even a very well-versed film-scholar will at times be struggling to identify the images. That being the case, this is not a 'documentary' in any traditional sense, and it is certainly not an education on the history of cinema. This is more of an extended video art piece, of extraordinary depth and scale, bringing together one man's perspective on the film and art of the 20th Century.
Not for everyone, but it's hard not to be impressed by the ambition, scale and technical complexity of what Godard has achieved here. If redefining genres, and cinema itself, is Godard's legacy, then this really is his 'Magnum Opus'.
