Band of Outsiders

This is a very rich and entertaining work. The plot revolves around two men and a woman who decide to rob the employer of the woman's aunt. However, Godard uses this slender plot as an excuse to riff on a wide spectrum of subjects. The would-be criminals run around, dance, recite newspapers stories to each other and have pretend shoot-outs.

This film is a lot of fun. Watch out for the celebrated dance sequence in the cafe and the scene where the three hold a minutes silence and all the noise on the soundtrack is cut off for the duration.

Acting wise, the film is stolen by the lovely Anna Karina (who was Godard's wife at the time) as the sweet, vague woman at the centre of the trio. Godard himself does the voice-over narration relating the story.

Filmed on the cold, de-glamorised streets of urban Paris, the film has a spontaneous feel that adds a lot to the exhilarating feel of the whole work.

This film is a charming, fun and suspense filled picture from one of the world's most interesting film-makers.

I found this to be more of a film about film-making than a great piece of cinema in its own right. It started fairly slowly and was unlike anything that I'd seen before but at the same time it wasn't really going anywhere. I watched some of the extras with the DVD and I'm glad I did because it highlighted the camera work and score which is really all that I'd really picked up watching it. The dance scene was brilliant but aside from that I didn't really find much in the characters to hook me in. I understand from the extras that there was no script which I know isn't uncommon with other directors but it did play like that. There was some good interaction between the characters at times but overall the only real spark inside the film itself was the dance. More technical for me than anything else.

Style over substance. It's an interesting approach to filmmaking, but it also stops the viewer from really caring about the characters. Director Jean-Luc Godard shows his talent for visuals and there are a number of scenes in the film that really stay in your mind. The story itself is not much engaging and there are no real thrills. What you will get is, perhaps, more of a reflection upon existence.

I won't pretend to be a scholar of French New Wave. I've seen a few movies (including BREATHLESS, 400 BLOWS and a few more). And now Godard's BAND OF OUTSIDERS. Of the New Wave I've seen, Godard's films are often the liveliest and most "carefree." At their best, they have an undeniable energy that feels real, like something really happening while a camera happened to be running. Sometimes, you are VERY aware that a film is being made but in a way that delights you with the craftsmanship. And sometimes, you just don't quite know what's going on, because the elements of what we think of as traditional narrative and storytelling are less interesting to Godard.

BAND OF OUTSIDERS touches all these areas. We are introduced, somewhat abruptly, to Arthur & Franz, two young men with little money and big ambitions. And little in the way of scruples. They are both taken with the innocent young Odile (Anna Karina), whom they attend an English Class with. They like her, but they also like the fact that she lives in a home where one of the men there keeps a huge pile of cash in his closet. So they both woo her because they are interested in her, and woo her to get her to help them steal the money. She knows that's their goal, but is nervous about helping. It isn't always easy to tell how anyone really feels about anything. There's actually a narrator there to explain some of this to us, but he never really quite does. The two men are fairly stoic, and its hard to read them. They are clowns. They are romantics. They are men of their era who also like old Hollywood movies. Odile is innocent, but that doesn't mean she isn't interested in and tempted by these guys. She's ready to break out of her shell more than a little.

The "heist" in the movie is almost incidental to watching these 3 interact. At times, their relationship is quite amusing, and at times, there is an undercurrent of danger. Odile fancies Arthur, ultimately, because she thinks he's the most genuine. But to us, he feels the most sinister. Capable of violence. And at it's best, the three have some really amazingly fun scenes together. Best of all was a long sequence set in a cafe, which, after lots of amusing things regarding who will sit where at their table, the 3 launch into a dance (The Madison). That scene, one long, long take, is amazing. Nothing happens, really, except they dance...but it's amazing to watch. Karina comes into her own...she glows in this scene, and for me, at that moment, she became a truly interesting actor.

It's a goofy movie in many ways, and speeds along briskly, but mostly to nowhere. The heist takes the tone of the film in new directions, and I'm not sure how Godard wanted things to come across. It seems remarkably callous. There are times throughout the film where we simply don't have a clue what's going on in the minds of the characters. They engage in conversations that come out of nowhere and we're given no context. Yes, it's all very "new wavey", but we need a little more to be willing to take the journey with you 100%.

It's a fun movie, and feels very evocative of its time and of a particular generation in that time. The young and disaffected with no real prospects. I'm very glad I saw it.

Odile has made new friends at English lessons, after making a faux pas, an indiscretion, telling them about a stash, of a great big pile of cash, it's become Arthur's and Franz's new obsession. Now they're conjuring a plan to grab the dough, it's unsecured, and in a place Odile can show, but she's having some concerns, struggling to come to terms, so she voices her unease, to let them know. Alas the plans for burglary do not run well, as barriers unknown block and repel, it's a comical affair, leads the combo to despair, the execution was quite poor, I think that's fair.

It still views well, but you need to digest it with the era in mind, alongside the other material the director produced around then, taking into account the unique style of his presentations.