Review of Alphaville (1965) by Hans L — 12 Apr 2009

This is Godard in full flight, attacking the foundations of logic and our culturally lazy assertions of rationality and objectivism. Lemmy Caution travels to the distant universe of Alphaville on a mission of to end the autocratic rule of Professor Von Braun and his sentient Alpha 60 computer that runs the show.

Every frame is laden with meaning and the project of realising the film with no special effects or sets only strengthens the idea that we already live in a quasi fascist culture instituted by our obsessions with logic.

The General Institute Of General Semantics also demonstrates Godard does have a sense of humour. As Lemmy deconstructs the texts of science fiction and the private eye genre, Anna Karina (as Natasha Von Braun, the dictator's daughter) shakes loose the shackles of the word as she learns what it means to love and to enunciate for ones self.