Another Godard, another pleasantly inviting, off-kilter trek with charismatic outlaws. Jumping from Breathless to Pierrot le Fou couldn't have been a more serendipitous selection, as their similarities are shocking. Not just in star Jean-Paul Belmondo, nor in the tale of two lovers on the wrong side of the law, but in the vibe and content - a strike against society and its inane, mundane commercialism. Here, instead of the law, Godard has Belmondo escaping from a drab life full of corporate sponsorship, empty philosophers, and family just as sick as he is, but too apathetic to change. Both Michel and Ferdinand craft fantasy personas for themselves; Michel a gangster, Ferdinand a poet. And both are in way over their heads;…

As with all of Godard's movies I feel I'm only skimming the surface of a deep pond full of greater meaning than I'm capable of attaining without having seen all of the same movies, read all of the same books, heard all of the same songs, thought all of the same thoughts, or breathed all of the same breaths as Godard. I suppose that's what makes him a definitively personal filmmaker, his "fingerprints on every frame" as my Francophile film studies professor would repeat like a damn mantra. It can be alienating at times, but in Pierrot Le Fou I think the perfect balance is struck between Godard the ponderous semiotician, Godard the strident leftist, and Godard the movie dude.…

A great quality of Pierrot le Fou is that it escapes from the conventional form of storytelling by having our protagonists interact with the audience and with each other during their narration. The movie is a nice blend of various genres and Jean-Luc Godard's use of color here makes it visually unique and interesting to watch. However, I couldn’t get that invested in the story unfortunately. Most of the dialogue has a poetic approach and I got put off by how Ferdinand and Marianne often complete each other's lines or keep delivering the same sentences. There are also some contrivances in the plot and a couple of silly moments that ended up making me not care so much for the…

"Chapter Eight"

The fragmentary incoherence of the stories we tell about ourselves; the inherent contingency and inconsistency of both narrative and identity.

I’ve been trying to include more plot synopsis in my reviews, because I easily get carried away with a lot of nonsensical posturing, but Pierrot le fou makes that a rather difficult task. At its most basic, it’s a story about a man who runs away with a woman (the French New Wave’s two most beautiful people, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina), but it’s filled with so much structural experimentation and narrative ambiguity that such a summary sells the movie short by ignoring its most interesting elements. Godard confines himself to some extent to the formal constraints of…

Not Another 30 Day Film Challenge: Day Fourteen, An Art House Film.

Why do you look so sad? Because you speak to me in words and I look at you with feelings.

Jean-Luc Godard is my personal favorite and one of the most misunderstood French directors of all time. A lot of his films seem to get criminally underrated by the public, but that may be due to the fact that his artistic, avant garde filming style can be a turn-off to many people. Granted, I don't care for some of his later work, but he has seemed to be beginning to redeem and resurrect himself with the most excellent Goodbye to Language 3D. Despite my lauding praise for that…

Jean-Luc Godard has always had a love affair with American cinema, with Western cultures and styles oozing into some of his most prominent works. The greatest of these examples is Pierrot Le Fou, arguably his finest film and a passionate tribute to the American crime genre. It's a classic whirlwind tale of love on the run, as French megastar Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina leave a Bonnie and Clyde-like trail of violence and debauchery in their wake. Like all Godard films, however, this story is told in his unconventional style that will leave people unfamiliar with Godard's work gasping for air. Pierrot Le Fou kickstarted his vibrant lineup of additions in the French New Wave, introducing the world to a…

Who knew existential ennui could be so colourful.
I liked the scene at the party, as Pierrot or Ferdinand, wanders past the scenes of people talking, cast in vivid hues, beautiful, alive, but empty.
A pretty crazy ending, and a way to go. Not sure I totally comprehended the plot, for the editing of this was fitting with New Wave, pretty disjointed. I liked the scene with the guy who can't stop hearing the song, a song we hear, but that Pierrot does not. I liked the re-enactment of Vietnam. Napalm fires on the water. Pierrot's old man impression.
It's like a more existentially minded Bonnie and Clyde.
Still iffy about the more sermonising parts, especially the overt sort of…