Pierrot Le Fou (Godard,1965) & Bande a Part (Godard, 1964):
Riverside Cinema, 3pm & 5.15pm
When Pierrot Le Fou, which will surely come to be seen as one of Jean-Luc
Godard's finest, was re-released in 1989 after many years out of
circulation, critic Jonathan Rosenbaum had this to say in an article in
Chicago Reader : "Looking at Pierrot Le Fou again almost a quarter of a
century after it was made, 20 years after its initial U.S. release,
is a bit like visiting another planet; it’s an explosion of color,
sound, music, passion, violence, and wit that illustrates what used to
be regarded as cinema."
It's impossible to give a swift synopsis for Pierrot Le Fou in which
Jean Paul Belmondo, ostensibly escaping stifling domesticity, and Anna
Karina, fleeing a group of gangsters, depart Paris for the south of
France suffice to say that it is brimming with ideas and scenes of
extraordinary complexity. My abiding memories of seeing this the first
time was of the vitality and colour - I was reminded when viewing it
again last year that this was also a caustic commentary by the director
on his relationship with Karina. Still, a huge treat and a film you
will not forget in a hurry.
If I had to pick one excerpt it would be
this one
in which fellow director Sam Fuller is asked what is the meaning of
cinema: "Film is like a battleground", recounts the American filmmaker.
"Love, hate, action, violence, death. In one word: emotion."
****************
Chicago Reader review of Bande a Part:
A gangster story, sort of, by Jean-Luc Godard, who supposedly told his backers that he was going to make a sequel to Breathless
and then delivered this mix of musical comedy, slapstick, violence, and
incidental observations on politics and philosophy. Claude Brasseur,
Sami Frey, and Anna Karina make fairly inept burglars, but they do a
wonderful version of the “Steam Heat” number from Stanley Donen's The Pajama Game. This 1964 feature remains one of Godard's most appealing and underrated films, relatively relaxed and strangely optimistic.
Dave Kehr
Here is the trailer.
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