tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post4501694720226533992..comments2024-03-28T02:30:08.913-04:00Comments on Not Just Movies: AlphavilleJakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-83474239695684320972011-09-08T15:51:51.099-04:002011-09-08T15:51:51.099-04:00goodgoodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-13030907313560618682010-02-13T17:13:56.135-05:002010-02-13T17:13:56.135-05:00This does seem to be an especially divisive film f...This does seem to be an especially divisive film for Godard; a lot of people are definitely put off by it, as much by the repetitive computerized drone of Alpha 60 as by the deliberate pacing.<br /><br />And I'm really glad you're getting so much out of this Godard viewing spree. I'm really enjoying following along.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-57329793878611580682010-02-13T10:33:46.007-05:002010-02-13T10:33:46.007-05:00I think its hypnotism was a bit too lulling, thoug...I think its hypnotism was a bit too lulling, though. I certainly liked the picture, and as I said at the start it shows Godard continuing to grow as a filmmaker, to refine old habits and to try new things, and I absolutely loved the ending. But in the middle I kept swaying between being taken in by its calmly oneiric effect and put off by it.<br /><br />I am discovering, to the shock and minor horror of the Jake Cole that was six months ago, that I am slowly being consumed by Godard in the best possible way. Having gone through all of these, I've yet to find one I actively dislike, even <i>Les Carabiniers</i> which is easily the weak one of the bunch. I mean, I didn't make Godard an "official" candidate for a retrospective because I thought I would filter in and out of touching upon his work, yet I've become so rapidly enamored with him that I've spent more time on his films than the two I meant to single out combined (and I've got a Pierrot review coming later today). I actually need to slow down a bit so I can start building my Karagara ratio in order to start downloading his '70s work. <br /><br />I'm not sure that I'm in love with Godard yet, but I've already accomplished what I hoped to do with going through his work -- to figure out how I process him and his challenging work -- freeing me up to really dive into his corpus and have fun with it.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-494160638739613756.post-55333205220313582902010-02-13T10:18:56.727-05:002010-02-13T10:18:56.727-05:00I really like this film. My top picks for Godard i...I really like this film. My top picks for Godard in the 60s are <i>A Married Woman</i>, <i>Masculin feminin</i>, <i>2 or 3 Things I Know About Her</i> and this one. It takes Eddie Constantine's long-established Lemmy Caution character — who appeared in a long line of French mystery thrillers and noirs — and transplants him into this forbidding future world. Far from finding it slow or boring, I think it's enthralling. Its rhythms are hypnotic. Godard, who is often accused, ironically, of being overly intellectual, is actually exploring the consequences of draining the emotion out of life in favor of intellect and reason. The film's central theme is rediscovering emotional connections between people: the hero wins by re-teaching the heroine about love. I find the ending, in which Karina struggles to remember the words "I love you," indescribably moving. <br /><br />This is a film, and a moment, to keep in mind as you go into Godard's later works. Godard quotes from this film quite a bit in some of his 90s films, for instance. It locates the tension between the state and the individual in love and emotion: the state, not content to control the physical circumstances of life, tries to infiltrate mental life as well. This is a theme that remains dear to Godard for a long time to come. And in 1991, he recast Constantine as Lemmy Caution in <i>Germany Year 90 Nine Zero</i>, which addressed similar themes revolving around the reunification of Germany.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.com