Running Time: 99 minutesDirected By: Jean-Luc Godard
Written By: Jean-Luc Godard, from the novel La Capitale de la douleur by Paul Eluard
Main Cast: Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamirof, Jean-Louis Comolli, Christa Lang
Click here to view the trailer
GODARD WEEK: PART FOUR
Well, now we start to slip a bit, as I will kick the review off by saying that this is the first Godard feature from THE BOOK that I really haven't taken to. Of course, it's really no shock, as I'm not the least bit of a sci-fi aficionado, in fact, I'm quite the opposite.
The plot will be a little tricky to describe, but as always, I'll give it the 'ol college try. Lemmy Caution (Constantine) is a spy/agent of sorts, sent from the "Outer Countries" to destroy Alpaville, a futuristic planet (at least I think it's a planet...or maybe it's just a city) where feeling emotion is punishable by death. What is normal in our eyes, is quite the opposite in Alphaville and what we'd consider mutant, is their ordinary. The world is about one half sci-fi, one half film noir, as Lemmy Caution puts you in the mind of Sam Spade. When Lemmy arrives, he comes with a notebook, filled with words and pictures of prominent people and phrases of Alphaville. He wields a camera and is constantly snapping pictures and ultimately he meets Natacha von Braun (Karina), whom he takes a liking to. In fact, Natacha is the daughter of Professor von Braun, a man who Lemmy is searching for throughout the entire film, although Natacha herself has never met her own father. Lemmy becomes more obsessed with the odd ways of Alphaville and displays disbelief when Natacha tells him she doesn't know the meaning of the words "love" or "conscience". Eventually, the climax is put into place, Professor von Braun shows up and the entire city (or planet) of Alphaville is in danger of Lemmy Caution.
I'll try to keep this short and sweet, as ultimately I really didn't know what to make of "Alphaville". As mentioned above I'm not a fan of science-fiction and when it comes to Godard, I think he's best suited to tell stories about relationships and stick to good, solid dialogue, inestead of telling tales filled with action. I'm really indifferent on this one, because there were parts that I thought were fascinating and brilliant and at other times I was scratching my head. I'll be honest, I kind of gave up on following the plot at about the 45 minute mark, because by then I was really confused as to what everything meant and what was really going on. However, scenes like the swimming pool scene, where a man is executed because he cried when his wife died, just struck me as genius. The movie was shot beautifully, with some beautiful and engaging camerawork, that really pulled me in, despite my hesitancy. I thought Eddie Constantine was fantastic and Anna Karina is proving to be a solid actress as well, with a great showing here and in "My Life to Live".The blend of sci-fi and film noir, however, has enticed me. Even though this film failed to really grip me, I was definitely intrigued by the mixing of genres. The film was set in the future, had noir-ish qualities of the past, yet felt as if it was taking place in a modern day world. That's not to say that we're currently living in a futuristic world, it's just that the surroundings and shooting locations looked and felt very modern. To anyone who claims "Alphaville" is a masterpiece, I don't doubt you. Unfortunately, however, the genius that I have no doubt was present, was lost on me. "Alphaville" is one of those films that you really wish you could like, but for me, it just doesn't click and admitting that I did like it, would be a lie.
RATING: 5/10 I'll call it right down the middle. I haven't lost faith in Godard though, and as far as I'm concerned he's 3-1. Next up: "Pierrot le fou".
MOVIES WATCHED: 387
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 614
January 5, 2012 2:15am
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