Review of Alphaville (1965) by Libby C — 03 Feb 2008

Think I read somewhere that to understand Alphaville is to understand Godard, and vice versa. There is nothing straightforward with this film. It mixes noir with si-fi with western (?!?! apparently, or so the ever playful Godard says).

Even the logic of alpha 60 is punctuated with moments of sheer poetry, so it doesn't feel like such a straightforward dichotomy between emotions and reason (which it shouldn't be). The thing I love most in this film is language.

A dane, an american and a russian struggle with a french language that's not quite recognisable and fight to express themselves (with all the puns and word play that is so typically Godardian). I get goosebumps everytime I watch the scene with the collage of eluard poetry - it's filled with so many ideas and cinema, about life, about language.

Although, most of the film is so beautifully shot that it all justifies the goosebumps. Hat's off to coutard's cinematography and godard's ingenuity for pulling that off without lighting. There's far too much I could say about this film.

While I can't claim that it's the greatest film ever made, I can say that it is, for whatever bizarre reasons, my favourite film. I love it I love it I love it.