pierrot le fou (1965)

for me, jean-luc godard's "pierrot le fou" not only represents the best example of the french new wave (despite some purists attaining that its not actually an example of the nouvelle vague at all...) but is, in my opinion the greatest film ever made.

''pierrot le fou'' is a film about regret, even down to the final scene. the story of an ad-man who one day, out of work and disillusioned with the route his life has taken decides to flee with his children's babysitter, a girl with whom he has a past. in turn it is discovered that the girl, marianne, has a couple of unresolved issues revolving around algerian gangsters, and so begins a journey to the south of france. the synopsis just outlined does very little to describe the film, as plot is, in a similiar manner to that of ''a bout de souffle'', almost irrelevent. the film is more concerned with the emotions of the semi-eponymous character (who actually goes by the name of ferdinand, yet marianne insists on calling him 'pierrot'), and his journey into decay, as outlined fairly explicitly in the early party conversation scene with samuel fuller.

half way through the picture, marianne tells a story concerning a man that decided to escape death (as in "death" the being. ala bengt ekerot in ''the seventh seal", as opposed to the actual act) by leaving paris and then heading to the south of france, only to hit a truck after driving all night. this analogy rings true for ferdinand, our hero, and could be seen as a nod to the audience, whom by this point in the movement, would have grown accustomed to the distinctive wit and wryness of the sort of humour expressed.

its worth pointing out just how important anna karina, and indeed her relationship with godard was on the final state of the film. in the years since its release, ''pierrot le fou'' has been regarded as one of the all time great examples of a piece of work created through heartbreak. anna karina and jean-luc godard's marriage fell apart during work on "pierrot", with the couple divorced by the time the camera's rolled. this personal situation is evident on the screen, with "pierrot" actually turning into a rather more biographical piece of work than im sure godard originally envisioned. the treatment of marianne as a character, and the way in which she treats ferdinand steadily declines, commenting perhaps on the relationship between godard and karina. and while it may seem like rather a light hearted role when all told, try comparing the diet-femme fetale of marianne with korina's odile in ''bande a part", to see how such similiar characters are handled differently. im under no illusion that the break up of his marriage and the nature of his work following "pierrot" are no doubt linked, i would actually be inclined to say that such a dramatic change in style and tone has never been seen in the arts before or since.

jean-paul belmondo, godard's often used performer returns in "pierrot le fou", in a role that i feel bookends incredibly well with belmondo's work in "a bout de souffle", and in turn, performances that bookend the entire nouvelle vague movement. one could almost view pierrot le fou's 'ferdinand' as the grown up michel poiccard, a loose end that has grown up to be all that he despises.

godard's political tongue changes with "pierrot le fou", and signs of the work that was to follow are becoming. gone are the loving references to american popular culture, as seen in ''a bout de souffle'' with belmondo's 'michel' and his aspirations for bogard, and the almost status symbol-like nature of the coca cola bottles in "bande a part", and in are the sly (and at times blatant) swipes at american culture, be it the satirical verse of the party scene, told in taglines from advertisements, or the attack at the texaco petrol station.

and those are just a few of the reasons as to why "pierrot le fou" is the greatest film ever made.

the element of crime (1984)

lars von trier's directorial debut tells the story of a detective provoked to return to his old beat in order to solve an old case. the film has a very unique look about it, in that it is largely filtered with a sepia tone, albeit with vivid occasional splashes of blue. british actor michael elphick leads the cast as the aforementioned detective, following the trail of a serial killer using a technique outlined in a book, the element of crime of the title.

following 'europa' i was very much looking forward to checking out some similiar period von trier, and 'the element of crime' didnt disappoint, in fact i found it to be much better than 'europa'. the concept and the style worked perfectly together, both really complimenting each other, making a film that is not just style over substance, but incredibly powerful at the same time. the world of the film reminded of the work of gilliam and early jeunet, creating, similiarly to 'europa' a very old fashioned future, except that the world of 'europa' was a very futuristic past.

as to whether the film will hold up to repeated viewings im not sure, but the initial experience alone was incredibly inspiring, leading to what i would consider one of the best screenings i have seen in a long time.

sunrise - song of two humans (1927)

perhaps the greatest silent film of all time, sunrise - a song of two humans is a product of two very different minds. creatively, the film was masterfully conceived by german filmmaker friedrich wilhelm murnau (f.w.murnau for short), who was lured to america with the promise of a blank cheque by william fox. together they crafted what would go on to be described by influential film periodical cahiers du cinema as "the single greatest masterwork in the history of the cinema".

the film opens with the premise of -
"this song of the man and his wife is of no place and every place; you might hear it anywhere at any time"
a fact that rings true in many ways. despite the fact that the film is over 80 years old, it proves, much in the same way that a text by shakespeare might, that love is a universal and recurring truth. the pain of remorse and longing is felt in an incredibly jarring and naked manner. the emotion is laid bear and genuinely effects, which when you consider that the tools at hand to murnau didnt actually include conversation, arguably the most emotive form of communication, then the execution is all the more impressive.

the film follows the story of a man and his wife, peasents on a farm in a town over-run by tourists during the summer, who's relationship is thrown into turmoil upon the arrival of a young city girl. the man embarks on an affair with the girl, a bold action and major taboo to be explored on screen in the nineteen twenties, when, blinded by love and pursuaded to do so by the girl, the man plots to killl his wife. in the midst of attempting to commit the act of murder the man realises he cant go through with it and his wife escapes to a neary city. the rest of the film follows their journey through the alienating and culturally polar city, where they encounter a fun fair, a barber shop and fruitful traffic.

the city girl is a very early protege of the archetypal femme fatale. the fact that she uses the concept of her sexuality (prevalent heavily in almost all of her scenes through the choice of clothing the character wears) to lure and manipulate the man, again in an extremely bold manner for the time of the films production. the effects of the affair caused by the city girl are seen throughout the film, the emotional effects are not forgotten and lend to a fairly complex psyche for the lead characters, something seen most prominently in the scene in the barbers where both the man and his wife are overcome with serious cases of jealousy when each interact with the opposite sex.

while the film deals with some pretty heavy subjects it still lends itself a sense of humour. one scene in particular brought a smile to this viewers face like no other in recent memory. a piglit escapes from one of the fairground attractions, causing all manner of havok, before our protagonist can lend himself to the story and step out of the scenario as the true hero. as neanderthal as it may be, few sites can make a grown man laugh as much as that of a small pig drinking red wine and subsequently tumbling over.