Jean Luc-Godard's film Pierrot le Fou

Jean Luc-Godard's 1965 film Pierrot le Fou is one of the finest examples of the auteurism theory of the French New Wave, and as such it stretched the medium of film. American film critic Andrew Sarris, defining the auteur theory, wrote that "film should ideally be a medium of personal artistic expression, and the best film's bear their maker's 'signature'-the stamp of his individual personality, controlling obsessions and cardinal themes" (Cook 552). This paper will examine the formal aspects of Pierrot le fou including how it expressed the auteur theory, the mise-en-scene, lighting, editing and other elements. The concerns and themes of the film, and how Godard's directorial choices contributed to what he is saying about his society, will also be considered.

The basic storyline centers around the journey of Ferdinand/Pierrot (Jean-Paul Belmondo) who impulsively runs away with his children's babysitter Marianne (Anna Karina, Godard's wife at the time). She is being chased by hit-men from Algeria while he is trying to escape his boring, bourgeoise life in Paris. Their drifting, poetic trip is the spine of the film. They are on the run for most of the film which climaxes with their violent end. The film, like most New Wave movies, is not dependent on its storyline. The point of Godard's film making is to work without a formal script so that he was not dependent on the writer. The film is a director's film, not a writer's film and serves as an example of how Godard man

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Category: Film - J