Two Paris low-lifers (Franz and Arthur) meet a pretty girl (Odile) in an English class. Right there I was alerted to the fact that this movie was not to be taken for its realism--these two guys would never have been studying English. They both fall for Odile. When she reveals that there is a lodger in her villa who has a cash bundle, the two guys become intent on getting the money and enlist Odile as an accomplice. That is the story, but in a movie like this the story appears to be incidental to the presentation.
And the presentation did not engage me. Odile is appealing enough in her innocence, but Franz and Arthur are losers. In an extraordinary feat Godard has managed to make Paris look dismal. This movie may as well have been filmed in Detroit. Clouds predominate and the film quality is slightly grainy giving the impression of looking through a light fog, even indoors.
It's hard to know how to take this. Maybe that was one of the goals, but the mixed genres did not jell into a whole for me. The jaunty score encouraged me to take this as a joke, but other scenes, like a murder, worked at cross-purpose to that. There were some humorous parts, like having Franz and Arthur wear Odile's black stockings completely over their faces during a crime scene. With no eye holes, they could not have seen much. Scenes like that, and having the three run through the Louve to set a speed record, had me thinking that this could be an absurdest comedy.
There is an interview with Godard (looking ominously like Dr. Strangelove) on the DVD extras where he discusses some of the tenets of the French New Wave cinema. The main thread I got out of that interview was Godard's desire to overthrow the accepted techniques and clichés of the past. But there is usually some wisdom in established techniques and clichés do not achieve their status without there having been some truth in them. Given Godard's outlook he can always deflect any criticism by accusing the critic of being too trapped by the past.
I have recently come up with a yardstick to help me in assessing my reaction to a movie, and that is how frequently I look at the time. Toward the end of this relatively short movie I was checking the clock about every five minutes.
And the presentation did not engage me. Odile is appealing enough in her innocence, but Franz and Arthur are losers. In an extraordinary feat Godard has managed to make Paris look dismal. This movie may as well have been filmed in Detroit. Clouds predominate and the film quality is slightly grainy giving the impression of looking through a light fog, even indoors.
It's hard to know how to take this. Maybe that was one of the goals, but the mixed genres did not jell into a whole for me. The jaunty score encouraged me to take this as a joke, but other scenes, like a murder, worked at cross-purpose to that. There were some humorous parts, like having Franz and Arthur wear Odile's black stockings completely over their faces during a crime scene. With no eye holes, they could not have seen much. Scenes like that, and having the three run through the Louve to set a speed record, had me thinking that this could be an absurdest comedy.
There is an interview with Godard (looking ominously like Dr. Strangelove) on the DVD extras where he discusses some of the tenets of the French New Wave cinema. The main thread I got out of that interview was Godard's desire to overthrow the accepted techniques and clichés of the past. But there is usually some wisdom in established techniques and clichés do not achieve their status without there having been some truth in them. Given Godard's outlook he can always deflect any criticism by accusing the critic of being too trapped by the past.
I have recently come up with a yardstick to help me in assessing my reaction to a movie, and that is how frequently I look at the time. Toward the end of this relatively short movie I was checking the clock about every five minutes.