Perriot le Fou- Godard

Parriot le Fou is a film about a man who loses his job at a television station and runs away with the babysitter  (Karina).  It seems like they leave without the faintest idea of what they are about to achieve, and although it doesn't seem like they always agree with the situation at hand, they make it work out.  They eventually start leading to crimes and somewhat remind me of Bonnie and Clyde.  They highjack cars and kill people which ultimately leads them to their own death.

 Godard uses colors to the utmost effect during certain scenes and almost uses a filter to give the whole image a solid color.  Red was also an extremely common color throught the film as Karina is seen wearing the candy apple color on countless occasions.  I am not sure if Godard is trying to make a statement about Karina in putting her in these shades of red, but it seems to reveal something about their relationship after their divorce, I am just unsure of what exactly he is trying to say.  Not my favorite of Karinas' performances but I liked it anyway. How could you not.    

The umbrellas of Cherbourg- Demy

This film was very touchy feely in the beginning and I had a soft spot in my heart for the two lovers are they were unfortunately separated as a result of Guy serving in Algeria.  Genevieve, the main character is then pushed into a relationship by her mother with someone that she believes to be more respectable and better off with all while carrying Guys child from the last night they were together.  Guy eventually returns from the war to find out his love for Genevieve will remain unreturned and eventually falls in love with Madeline, his aunts care taker.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie, although towards the beginning i was not keen on the idea of watching a movie in which the dialogue was only singing. I was shocked at how natural is seemed despite the constant singing and I actually ended up liking the film and continued to ponder certain scenes in my head.  It was kinda catchy actually and although extremely unrealistic, it was still pleasant to watch.  I would probably watch it again, and would be able to catch more of it.  The singing was somewhat distracting and it was easy to get lost in the conversations at certain points.

Two or Three Things I Know About Her- Godard

A Godard film that I really enjoyed.  Juliette Janson is perfect for the role of a stay at home housewife who is forced to puts herself on the street and offer herself for money in order to pay bills during toughs times.  At first she is very uncomfortable in her actions but she seems to get used to it and almost enjoy the night life as the film progresses on. 

 The most intriguing part to me is that she was able to act so naturally when coming home to her husband.  Of course in reality, one would not be able to act so calm and collective after coming home from a deed like that, but that is the beauty of film.  It made the story unbelivable yet entertaining.  I really like the split personality life she was living and how she was performing one aspect of her life in order to feed the other.   By performing the ultimate task of prostitution, she showed her true love for her husband and family which touched me in an odd sort of way.  

One thing I somewhat disliked about the film was the strong political voice in which it was hard for me to understand.  With maybe a second or third viewing it would come more easily, but there were a couple Anti- Vietnam war statements as well as examples of the rough economic times that France was going through.  A good example f this would be the man who watched children as a sitter and also lent rooms to prostitutes.  This man was paid in commodities such as food rather than money.   Overall, I enjoyed this movie despite there being a lack of activity going on other than what has been mentioned, but i managed to overlook a lack of a complex plot and appreciate it for what it was 

Contempt- Godard

Contempt was a Godard film that I was somewhat puzzled by as I felt there were alot of wholes that were unexplained.  Although I did not understand everything in the movie, this may be Godards exact intent because of his relationship with Karina in poor status. The beginning of the movie left me hanging right off the bat.  Camille seemed to be flirting with Paul and asks him countless times if he likes her numerous body parts, almost teasing him and leading him on.  When Paul tries to make a move on her, he is instantly denied and she keeps egging him on.  This frustrated me, but what guy wouldn't be frustrated after something like that! 

I found the film to be extremely depressive which seems to be the stage in which Godard is going through at the time.  We have seen Godards love for Karina expand in films already so why would we not see their relationship dwindle as well.  I didn't enjoy the acting of Brigitte Bardot as much as Karina and I was just wondering were is Karina the whole time, but that could be a result of my obsession for her.  Godard was one of the first to display a female nude in a film and that was something that I respect, other than a couple other scenes that captured my attention, I would have to say I was relatively unentertained with this Godard film.

  

Day for Night - Truffaut

Day for night is a film about the film industry and show the trials and tribulations of a director and the decisions he must make while directing a film.  Truffaut plays the director himself in the movie which I thought to be very clever in itself.  This way, he can play himself in the movie and portray what he would actually do and say during certain scenes if he was ever presented with the situation.  It gives great insight into the mind of Truffaut.  I found this film easy to fallow because it was structured in chronological order rather than and unusual, out of place order that causes the audience to piece together a puzzle (Godard).  Although I do enjoy the films with a plot in disarray, this film was relaxing and easy to watch which made it fun.  

During the film, many things seem to go wrong on and off the set that delay the production of the film.  Truffaut is trying to show the audience that the film industry can be a very stressful place to work and one must love creating films more than life itself in order to proceed with sometimes grueling  and inconvenient retakes.  When they needed to perform the large scene with hundreds of people as a result of problems with the film, I felt as if I was part of the crew and was just as disappointed as the casting members in the redo.  

Truffaut does a great job with capturing the stress levels and relays his own trials to the audience in which they can feel stressed out as well.  Capturing film making on film made me think about the whole thing on a different level and I realized things that I never thought about in the film industry, especially during the times.  Despite the film conveying high stress levels in the film industry, the film was very lively and up beat with a wonderful display of vibrant colors that we have seen from Truffaut in the past.  

Les Carabiners -Godard

Les Carabiners is a Godard film that i also enjoyed a great deal.  It is a story about two brothers who are called on by the king to fight in the war.  They are promised riches and the ability to do anything they want while fighting including raping, killing, and stealing anything they wish, which they do a good deal of throught the film.  Their wives are thrilled on the idea of being rich after they return and practically give them a kick out the door.  

We see jump cuts just as we would throught most New Wave films.  The jump cuts of real war scenes add an element of the reality of a war and not this fantasy life of raping and stealing these men think that they are in.  I felt unusually uncomfortable throught most of the film which is most definitely Godards intent.  His marxist political views are very apparent throught through characters.  At one point a girl performers a very Marxist type poem before she is killed.

The men come back from the war in which they have lost only with pictures and postcards of the places they have visited.  The wives wonder were the riches are along with the men that went.  They are promised payment by the riflemen and are lead into a room were their "payment" is.  They are then unexpectedly shot by the riflemen, actually getting what they deserve in the end for the terrible actions that they have committed during the course of the film. An unexpected but fitting ending for the circumstances. 

A women is a women- Godard

A women is a women is by far one of my favorite Godard films we have seen.  Anna Karina is just so beautiful and the camera loves her.  Karina is also Godards real wife at the time and I think we see alot of aspects from their life that are directly displayed on the screen.  One thing that I noticed and thought was interesting was the references to other French New Wave films such as Breathless, Shoot the Piano Player, and more.  I just thought it was great when the lead actor of Breathless mentioned that "Breathless is on tv tonight".  Godard strikes again with his witty references.

The color in this film was very animated and helped to portray the Karinas child like actions.  Blue, white and red and extremely common colors throught the film and almost provide a cartoonish vibe as to how bright and unnatural they are.  You would never see a house decorated with such bright colors.  Again, jump shots and quick cuts are seen throught the film accompanied with a very loud sound track. The volume seems to be set at one level, LOUD.

A couple of my favorite parts of the film include direct references and actions to the audience.  Karina  and Emile, her husband bow to the audience towards the begining and make a direct reference to honoring the crowd.  This gives the film theater type feeling.  Karina also winks at the and looks directly into the camera which is uncommon in films at the time.  The film is often described as a musical, but I saw it as a film with musical like qualities than an actual musical.  This is a great Godard film