Well, this was a good film − not great but ok (and it's tough to say this, given Godard is one of my favourite directors). But the reason I say it because looking back there wasn’t anything especially engaging for me, as I felt that none of the three major protagonists really drew my attention. Odile (Anna Karina) was very up and down − sometimes she was naïve and frustrating other times entertaining, I expected more from Franz (Sami Frey) and Arthur (Claude Brasseur), well I didn’t like his poor, criminal character. Also, the plot made the film a lot more coherent and flowing than the usual fragmented Godard − it wasn’t so avant-garde, which is unusual seeing as though this was his seventh film.
There were however some fine Godard moments. I liked the beginning when the title came up on screen (of course) superimposed over rapid jump cuts of the faces of the three characters. It was sort of echoing what the medium of film does; that is − quickly play images in succession − and it looked good (and also worked to set up the love triangle in the film). Also, there's a very telling moment when Godard’s name appears in the opening credits as “Jean-Luc Cinéma Godard” − that’s probably as obvious as you can get in highlighting Godard’s relationship with cinema − he lives it, he is it.
The plot centres on the two young men who plan to steal money from Odile’s aunt’s house though they end up killing the uncle and Arthur gets killed as well (we find out the aunt was faking her death after being locked up in the closet). Godard sums up the plot himself near the beginning when he says statements like “two young men”, “a romance”, “a house by the river”. Although Odile is initially for the plan, she alternates between hesitance and helping the two guys out so I guess that’s where I would’ve liked to see her as a stronger character − though I suppose that’s pretty rare for a strong female lead and that would severely change the film’s dynamics, as well as the story. The film is commonly classified as a gangster film and we see the characters pretend to shoot each other (until they actually do use their guns later on). At one point, when the characters are discussing when to steal the money, Godard’s voice-over narration says that Arthur wants to wait for nightfall, “in keeping with the tradition of bad B movies”, which is ultimately what this film becomes.
I like the scene in the English class near the beginning of the film, where the teacher writes on the board: “classique = modern” and Karina recites a quote by Eliot (which apparently is paraphrased from one of his essays): “Everything that is new is automatically traditional”. These phrases bring up interesting ideas about the New Wave and how it sought to be different from the classic, traditional past of the cinema. Also in the class, the teacher recites Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which ever so plainly, foreshadows the plot of the film itself, the two lovers (Arthur and Odile) and the death. The film becomes a sort of tragedy although not a melancholic one, almost a tragicomedy as Karina though upset at first, seems to quickly leave that all behind her − almost as if tragedy is a thin layer of the film. That’s the impression I got anyway, especially in moments that were almost parodying the gangster/crime genre, such as the scene with the ladder, as the two criminal (with their faces covered in Karina’s stockings) struggle to set it up.
There also seemed to be minor themes surrounding lying and deceit − a lot of things were mixed up (such as the glasses in the café and the individuals themselves, who keep changing seats). I like how in that same café, when Karina goes to the bathroom downstairs, we hear music playing from the film Umbrellas of Cherbourg (which was premiering at the time Godard was filming Band of Outsiders) and Franz also whistles songs from the musical too. I have to say, I was just stunned when Karina went into the bathroom and there we see a girl who looks like Chantal Goya (and I’m convinced it’s her even though she’s not in the credits), putting on eyeliner in the mirror, just like in Masculin, Féminin, which was to be filmed a few years later. Very cool. Also I found a few times in the film we see Karina go off-screen but we still see her in a reflection, echoing Vivre Sa Vie, a film she had starred in earlier. Speaking of other Godard films, I swear the kitchen where Arthur takes out his gun is used in another Godard film and I’m pretty sure it’s La Chinoise.
Given the overt presence of music, I like the minute silence in the café, when all sound, even the atmosphere, is muted. Also, I really enjoyed the famous dance scene, where Godard’s voice-over tells us what each character is thinking as they dance the routine, which by the end of the long shot, I think I had the routine memorized myself!
Other references/interesting trivia: they meet at a café called Tout va Bien, the character of Franz is named after writer Fran Kafka (as apparently the actor looked like him), they walk past a clothing store called “Nouvelle Vague”, as well as run through the Louvre, which is a nice setting to utilise I think. These titbits I learnt from the very useful special features’ visual glossary, which describes various references in the film.
Other features include: interviews with a young Godard, an older Karina, as well as Raould Coutard (cinematographer) and the usual trailers (which I don’t know if it’s just me, but they seem to give away the whole film, pretty much a visual summary of the main clips in the film). Oh and there is also a short film by Agnes Varda, Les Fiancés du Pont Mac Donald, which stars Karina and Godard, as a sort of Buster Keaton figure, in a great little classic silent film − complete with cute comedic music. It's a rare glimpse of Godard at a younger age, and as an actor − it's great! Here it is:
3.5/5
There were however some fine Godard moments. I liked the beginning when the title came up on screen (of course) superimposed over rapid jump cuts of the faces of the three characters. It was sort of echoing what the medium of film does; that is − quickly play images in succession − and it looked good (and also worked to set up the love triangle in the film). Also, there's a very telling moment when Godard’s name appears in the opening credits as “Jean-Luc Cinéma Godard” − that’s probably as obvious as you can get in highlighting Godard’s relationship with cinema − he lives it, he is it.The plot centres on the two young men who plan to steal money from Odile’s aunt’s house though they end up killing the uncle and Arthur gets killed as well (we find out the aunt was faking her death after being locked up in the closet). Godard sums up the plot himself near the beginning when he says statements like “two young men”, “a romance”, “a house by the river”. Although Odile is initially for the plan, she alternates between hesitance and helping the two guys out so I guess that’s where I would’ve liked to see her as a stronger character − though I suppose that’s pretty rare for a strong female lead and that would severely change the film’s dynamics, as well as the story. The film is commonly classified as a gangster film and we see the characters pretend to shoot each other (until they actually do use their guns later on). At one point, when the characters are discussing when to steal the money, Godard’s voice-over narration says that Arthur wants to wait for nightfall, “in keeping with the tradition of bad B movies”, which is ultimately what this film becomes.
I like the scene in the English class near the beginning of the film, where the teacher writes on the board: “classique = modern” and Karina recites a quote by Eliot (which apparently is paraphrased from one of his essays): “Everything that is new is automatically traditional”. These phrases bring up interesting ideas about the New Wave and how it sought to be different from the classic, traditional past of the cinema. Also in the class, the teacher recites Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which ever so plainly, foreshadows the plot of the film itself, the two lovers (Arthur and Odile) and the death. The film becomes a sort of tragedy although not a melancholic one, almost a tragicomedy as Karina though upset at first, seems to quickly leave that all behind her − almost as if tragedy is a thin layer of the film. That’s the impression I got anyway, especially in moments that were almost parodying the gangster/crime genre, such as the scene with the ladder, as the two criminal (with their faces covered in Karina’s stockings) struggle to set it up.
There also seemed to be minor themes surrounding lying and deceit − a lot of things were mixed up (such as the glasses in the café and the individuals themselves, who keep changing seats). I like how in that same café, when Karina goes to the bathroom downstairs, we hear music playing from the film Umbrellas of Cherbourg (which was premiering at the time Godard was filming Band of Outsiders) and Franz also whistles songs from the musical too. I have to say, I was just stunned when Karina went into the bathroom and there we see a girl who looks like Chantal Goya (and I’m convinced it’s her even though she’s not in the credits), putting on eyeliner in the mirror, just like in Masculin, Féminin, which was to be filmed a few years later. Very cool. Also I found a few times in the film we see Karina go off-screen but we still see her in a reflection, echoing Vivre Sa Vie, a film she had starred in earlier. Speaking of other Godard films, I swear the kitchen where Arthur takes out his gun is used in another Godard film and I’m pretty sure it’s La Chinoise.
Given the overt presence of music, I like the minute silence in the café, when all sound, even the atmosphere, is muted. Also, I really enjoyed the famous dance scene, where Godard’s voice-over tells us what each character is thinking as they dance the routine, which by the end of the long shot, I think I had the routine memorized myself!
Other references/interesting trivia: they meet at a café called Tout va Bien, the character of Franz is named after writer Fran Kafka (as apparently the actor looked like him), they walk past a clothing store called “Nouvelle Vague”, as well as run through the Louvre, which is a nice setting to utilise I think. These titbits I learnt from the very useful special features’ visual glossary, which describes various references in the film.
Other features include: interviews with a young Godard, an older Karina, as well as Raould Coutard (cinematographer) and the usual trailers (which I don’t know if it’s just me, but they seem to give away the whole film, pretty much a visual summary of the main clips in the film). Oh and there is also a short film by Agnes Varda, Les Fiancés du Pont Mac Donald, which stars Karina and Godard, as a sort of Buster Keaton figure, in a great little classic silent film − complete with cute comedic music. It's a rare glimpse of Godard at a younger age, and as an actor − it's great! Here it is:
3.5/5
