Pierrot Le Fou
by Jean-Luc Godard
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Aicha Abadir, Anna Karina, Graziella Galvani, Henri Attal, Jean-Paul BelmondoDirector: Jean-Luc Godard
Cinematographer: Raoul Coutard
Writer: Jean-Luc Godard
Editor: Fran?oise Collin
Producer: Georges de Beauregard
Writer: Lionel White
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language), Analog
Format: Color, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 110 minutes
Release Date: 1998-05-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Fox Lorber
Studio: Fox Lorber
VHS Movie Reviews of Pierrot Le Fou
Movie Review: the summation of the new wave
Summary: 5 Stars
Godard's first ten films are characterized as his most "new wave" of films (why Maculin/Feminin and Weekend aren't "new wave" is beyond me. Perhaps it has to do with Anna Karina and Godard's separation, though they had divorced before filming Alphaville). Anyway, if this indeed is his last new wave film, it serves as a sort of masters thesis of everything that he made before.
Ferdinand/Pierrot (Jean-Paul Belmondo, wonderful) lives an unsatisfying life of domesticity with his rich, vapid Italian wife. Marianne (the beautiful, amazing Anna Karina), a since forgotten fling of Ferdinand's appears in his life once again, and the two undertake a spree of murder, poverty, cunning, theft and isolation. One of the bonus features on the second disc describes Pierrot as the reverse Breathless (Godard's first full length), and it makes sense. Here, Godard is self-referential, making sly gestures and nods at his previous work. Some of my favorite lines of any Godard film are here: Pierrot glad he hates spinach and his old man's monologue on writing and Joyce. Raoul Coutard's filmography is, once again, stunning. The film is awash in blues, in comic book two-tones, which Karina's red dress stands out as an ode to non-conformity.
Of course this is a long film, and though its structure is completely linear, the odd sense of time in it may detract viewers (I for one love it). Different elements and characters seem to be thrown in at odd times, but eschewing the normalcy and heightening the artificiality of cinema was Godard's intentions. Some might see this as arty pretension, well it is. But as a film lover I'm rather tired of movies I watch once and everything is handed to me neatly. Anything demanding close repeated watching is the only thing worth watching, personally. But really, this movie isn't so over everyone's heads as to be unenjoyable to those unfamiliar with Godard's work. It's funny, sad, exciting, and most of all enigmatic.
Now, if you've seen Godard's previous nine films you'll want to see this, unless you didn't enjoy them, which begs the question Why did you watch them? Belmondo and Karina are at once very archetypal characters in the Godardian universe, but they're also very much distinct from the other characters they had played. For instance, they seem to be the complete opposites of their A Woman is a Woman roles. Karina here plays the feisty, un-containable murderess always on the move, whereas the earlier film all she wants is a kid. Belmondo here is a sensitive, artistic brooder, with a playful side to be sure, but in Woman he is a horny, egocentric, calloused hanger-on.
Also, the end of Pierrot is one of the most abrupt, unexpected, wonderfully humorous and disconcerting of any I have ever seen!
So, while I whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone interested, perhaps it'd be best to acquaint yourself with his earlier films to get a gist of Godard's intentions as a filmmaker. If you're new to his work, I suggest this order: Breathless, Band of Outsiders, A Woman is a Woman, Contempt, Alphaville, My Life to Live, Pierrot le Fou. And if you like those then watch Masculin/Feminin and Weekend. All the films mentioned above are outstanding, amazing, brilliant films worth a million Jurassic Parks, Mama Mias, Titanics and ET's.
Summary of Pierrot Le Fou
Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a man who has married for money and is terribly disillusioned with his life. When forced to go to a dinner party he does not want to attend, he throws a temper tantrum and returns home early. When driving Marianne (Anna Karina), the babysitter, back home, they fall in love and decide to run away from Paris. They embark on a series of escapades that begins with running illegal arms for extra cash and runs the gamut: love, death, ennui, boat chases, murder, betrayal, revenge, lost cash, and almost anything else you can think of, and all with a sense of reality that is an interesting contrast to the typical American film. Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless, Alphaville) blends different genres with great success and achieves moments of cinematic poetry in this quasi-epic of modern malaise. Also a cameo by the Hollywood director Samuel Fuller is something to watch for. Be aware that Godard is for people seriously interested in cinematic art. --James McGrathArt House & International VHS Video
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