I am an emotional cinephile, not an intellectual one.  What I mean by that is that when I watch a film, I respond to it with my gut, with my heart, not my mind. My favorite films are ones that move me in some way. As is probably painfully obvious from my reviews, I don’t spend a lot of time analyzing a film for its deeper meanings or its themes. I don’t necessarily spend hours digging into the filmmaker’s personal beliefs, what they’ve said in interviews, or the political climate the film was made in.

Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t use my intellect when watching a film. I am often stimulated by the filmmaking techniques, the director’s sense of style, and how they tell their story. I love reading intellectual critiques of films; I’m just not all that capable of writing one.  I’ll let you decide if that is a good or a bad thing.

What this means is that sometimes I come across a film and have no idea how to talk about it.  Jean-Luc Godard’s Pierrot le Fou  is a meta-movie, a crime thriller, a relationship drama, and so much more. 

The plot is fairly simple. Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is sick of his average, boring life. His wife drags him to a party where the men talk like commercials selling cars and the women sound like an ad for skin cream. He leaves early and discovers the babysitter, Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina), sound asleep. He agrees to take her home, and they reminisce about how they used to be lovers. 

Those reminisces turn into something more, and they run away, turn to crime, and have a bit of a Bonnie and Clyde situation. It turns out she’s got a history; her brother has been a criminal for quite some time, and…well, now that I think about it, that simple plot gets a little complicated.

The thing is, Godard is taking a fairly standard crime plot, and he’s having all kinds of fun with it. The  title of the film literally translates to “Pierrot, the Fool.”  Marianne constantly calls Ferdinand “Pierrot,” to which he always replies, “My name is Ferdinand.”  The name Pierrot refers to the sad clown of Commedia dell’arte. 

The film makes various references to French literature (most of which went over my head, but my wife filled me in), and movies. At that party early in the film, the great American director Samuel Fuller shows up and discusses film by saying “Film is like a battleground. There’s love, hate, action, violence, death… in one word: emotion.”  Well known French actor Jean-Pierre Leaud shows up as an extra at one point. You can barely see him at the bottom of the frame while our heroes are at a movie.

The score often cuts out for a second only to come back as if Godard is trying to remind us we are watching a film and that real life doesn’t come with a soundtrack. At least a couple of times, characters look straight at the camera and speak to the audience.  Marianne catches Ferdinand doing it and asks, “Who are you talking to?” To which he replies, “The audience.”

This is where I come back to the part where I’m not intellectual enough to talk about this film. There is so much going on in every second of this film that I’ve barely covered it. I can’t cover it, because I know I missed most of it.  I’m just not qualified to give this a true review.

That isn’t to say I didn’t like the film. On the contrary, I loved it. I’ve seen enough films to understand that Godard is being playful, that he’s calling attention to the fact he’s making a film while also making a thoroughly enjoyable story.  

I don’t think you have to be a total film nerd or an intellectual to enjoy this film. I think it can be enjoyed at face value while providing many layers for smart people to sift through.  Highly recommended.