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Easily (and I mean that in the boldest of senses) one of my favorite films of all time, `Pierrot le Fou' is cinematic perfection personified. There isn't a single moment of this film that doesn't fill me with every emotion needed to captivate and just thrust me into a sensory overdose. From the lush sets to the engaged performances to the witty banter to the sharply edited sequences to the ravishingly spectacular script, `Pierrot le Fou' is, in a word, perfect.
Enough gushing already.
The film tells the story of a dissatisfied husband who has married solely for money, not for love, and thus embarks on a passion filled escapade with the babysitter. Ferdinand uninspired by his existence, but Marianne promises (with her bewitching walk and `come-hither' eyes) a life free from regret. He sees a future that encompasses everything his current state is lacking, and so he runs off with her, setting their sights on Paris (who wouldn't?). Things get sticky along the way, and the two find themselves engaged in acts of random violence they never imagined was their destiny. Their adventure turns dangerous and soon they are left with nothing left to do but jump right into the fire.
The very thought of this movie makes me want to drop to my hands and knees and perform an act of worship.
I have and always will be an advocate for French cinema, especially the 60's new wave campaigned by the likes of Francois Truffaut and my personal favorite film director (of all time) Jean-Luc Godard. `Pierrot le Fou' capitalizes on everything I find so enthralling about French new wave. There is the obvious weighty themes but they are presented in an enchantingly jovial tone that keeps the audience entertained, even in the throes of crisis. The colorful sets only serve as slick compliments to the films grounded performances (Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina were never better) and the films sharp editing helps embellish the complexities of the films plot.
In the end, `Pierrot le Fou' is about our personal convictions and the need, as people, to be invested in our own destiny.
While one can easily point to the films sporadic delivery and ascertain that it is merely an `art' film, one would be wrong in simply dismissing it for its entertainment value alone. The film, for me, captures elements from all sides of the cinematic spectrum. The film is deeply unsettling when you start to take its elements seriously (especially the eventualities contained in the films conclusion), which adds a completely different layer to the films tone. The film is undeniably entertaining, which is not something many `art' films can attest to being. Most people label `art' films as boring and needlessly complex (I'm not talking about myself here) but this film, which is most certainly an `art' film, is far from either. There is a rich poignancy here that transcends the films release date, and there is an enigmatic atmosphere that only helps elevate the films importance.
It is fresh, it is exciting, it is dangerous, it is meaningful, and it is loud, abrasive and epic in every sense of the word. It is cinema; cut, paste and send.
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Reviews with images
Disc 2 documentary
...straight to the current interview with Anna Karina found on disc 2 of this set. Anna now looks like the female equivalent of the way Keith Richards looks nowadays, and talks like him too for that matter..all liquor soaked and head tossing. It's really uncanny. This will almost squash all your passion and longing vision that you have for her. Almost. For, aside from the main feature (disc 1) we are chauferred back in time via several mini-featurettes contained on the 2nd disc. "Godare, L'amour, la Poesie", a fifty minute documentary chronicling Godard's life and films with Karina is worth the price of this set. Here, we learn and understand the man that Godard was, what his films meant to him and how he met and worked with and used and loved and fell out of with the singular Anna Karina.Her face........her face, her hair, her lips, her tall slender figure clothed in reds and soft blue, and the black and white film clips from the period, restore the magnetic allure that will captivate any man from any decade. There are two black and white interviews with Jean-Luc from the time period (1965)that show him very relaxed and thoughtful to the questions he is given and his answers. Another filmed interview from the period with Belmondo shows him to also be very relaxed and amusing. It's quite a revelation to see how he was in real life away from the brusk gangsters and ne'er-do-wells that he played on the screen. The 2 disc set comes with a thick booklet carrying beautiful color stills, a lengthy interview with J-L.G, a nice review from Andrew Sarris and more.
Top reviews from other countries
D. J. Tinkler
Imports don't play in this country!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2013Mathieu N.
The definitive Pierrot Le Fou edition
Reviewed in Canada on November 13, 2013