I mentioned that I would review movies that were old well I thought that I would review one of my favorite movies of all time. The film is by the visionary director Jean-Luc Godard. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Godard was starter of the French New Wave movement along with filmmakers such as François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer, and Jacques Rivette. French New Wave cinema is defined by its iconoclastic themes and innovative use of editing and photography. The New Wave movement borrows heavily from the Italian Neorealist movement. New Wave directors really wanted to break away from classical cinema.
In 1965 Godard released the vibrant and colorful Pierrot Le Fou. Le Fou tells the story of a Parisian man, Ferdinand, who is sick of his upper-class life and runs away with this baby-sitter/former lover, Marianne Renoir. Ferdinand and Marianne go on the lamb and committing crimes and living in their love for one another.
There are so many things in this movie that I love. The thing that struck me at first was the use of bright primary colors and white. It gives the film a very bright and sharp look. The visual style is very appealing. Godard uses a lot of images from French pop culture of the time and other such cinematic images. He also show a lot of what the characters are writing. As all of this is going on the characters are expressing their love for one another in voice overs. The innovative film making is reason enough to watch this film. There are even three musical numbers that I enjoyed as well. This is by no means a musical however.
It is hard for me to express the reasons why I love this film without giving away the ending but I will say that I empathize with Ferdinand in the end of the film. I know what he went through or at least something similar and well. I feel for the guy.
Trust me this film is well worth your time. It is my second favorite film of all time. If that isn’t reason enough to watch it then I guess I haven’t built up enough of a reputation. Either way there aren’t very many good films out right now so why not head over to your netflix account and throw that down in your cue.
Grade: A+
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