Bande à Part aka Band
of Outsiders by Jean-Luc Godard
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are
available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and
http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is acclaimed as one of the best films.
TIME Magazine has included it among the best 100 movies,
which is available here:
The plot is rather simple.
The directness of the narrative probably adds to its
attractiveness.
Band of Outsiders is an adaptation of the novel Fool’s Gold
and it is a Nouvelle Vague film, the French:
-
New Wave Movement
Two partners in crime, called Arthur and Franz want to rob a
house and at the start of the film look at their target.
They then start shooting each other, inspired by the many
movies that they watch and have a liking for and which probably inspire their
crime plans.
They meet Odile, a beautiful woman played by Anna Karina, in
an English class that touches on important subjects:
-
Classic =
modern
An interesting, counterintuitive statement that the teacher wants
to explore further and asks about a quote from Elliot.
He is supposed to have said, albeit I could not find the
quote on the net, something like: all that is new becomes automatically
traditional...or words to that effect, spoken anyway in french
There are some classic scenes, in a film that has inspired
Quentin Tarantino and Bernardo Bertolucci, among others.
Quentin Tarantino has called his company A Band Apart and
the famous dance scene with Uma Thurman and John Travolta is inspired by a
classic dance within Band of Outsiders.
Another special idea is the „one minute silence”, which has
been timed at 36 seconds and has reminded me of Romanian films.
Come to think of it Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Iranian directors and
others use this procedure wherein eating a soup on film lasts...well, as long
as it does in real life...but many feel it takes too long.
The other scene that I have seen in History of Cinema
documentaries as a classic, inspiring moment has to do with the Louvre.
An american from San Francisco had had a record of „visiting”
The Louvre in about 9 minutes and some seconds.
The crazy trio decide to beat the record and are filmed
running away through the halls and corridors of The Louvre.
In a strange coincidence, I have finished reading The Sellout,
by Paul Beatty, winner of The Man Booker Prize for 2016.
To quote The Telegraph :
-
„ It’s an
onslaught of provocative ideas (a return to slavery anyone?) and slyly casual
references to Jean-Luc Godard, Robespierre and Björk.”
If I remeber well, Paul Beatty says that „Godard approaches
film making as a critic”, but some corrupt and stupid individual is using a
drilling machine –almost always and right next to my head, if across the wall-
and I find all the memory turning blank.
Luckily, there is the internet with quotes from this great
work:
„Franz: Isn't it
strange how people never form a whole?
Odile: In what way?
Franz: They never come
together. They remain separate. Each goes his own way, distrustful and tragic.
Even when they're together, in big buildings, or in the street.
Franz: A minute of
silence can last a long time... a whole eternity.
Le narrateur: A few clues
for latecomers: Several weeks ago... A pile of money... An English class... A
house by the river... A romantic young girl...
Le narrateur: My story
ends here like a dime novel. At a superb moment, when everything is going
right. Our next episode, this time in Cinemascope and Technicolor: Odile and
Franz in the tropics.”
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