REVIEW: ‘Band of Outsiders’ showcases Karina-Godard partnership
Band of Outsiders, one of director Jean-Luc Godard’s most interesting and entertaining films, stars his 1960s actress of choice, Anna Karina, in a thoughtful, powerful performance about youth, consequences and love. The film is currently playing the Film Forum in New York, in addition to a retrospective of all the Karina-Godard partnerships.
The 1964 film tells the story of Odile (Karina), a young woman taking English classes at the local school. In her class are Franz (Sami Frey) and Arthur (Claude Brasseur), two scheming men who try to woo Odile and devise a plan to steal a stash of money at her aunt’s villa. Before they devolve into criminal high jinks, the three enjoy their youthful lives in this Parisian suburb. They go out for a soda, traipse through backyard shortcuts and debate their understanding of life. As they learn about one another, the audience starts to realize that Franz and Arthur have ulterior motives. When Odile leaves the table at the local restaurant, they dump alcohol into her soda. When she talks about the money at her aunt’s place, their ears perk up. When the two men are alone, they take turns “fake shooting” each other and falling to the ground in pure Hollywood fashion. Heck, they even test out their getaway car skills in a pile of mud.
In many ways, Band of Outsiders is about misbegotten youth, the loss of innocence and, in terms of Odile, the striving for independence. She learns about the harsh realities of the world, and its whimsical opportunities for fun, through these two bad influences.
Godard, a master storyteller and teller of organic, real tales, plays coy in the beginning of the movie, making the audience think somewhat positively and romantically about this unlikely trio. They seem harmless, fleeting, even good company. However, by the end, when Arthur and Franz make their dash for the money, darkness has pervaded Odile’s life, and their true nature begins to emerge. When the two men gag and bind Odile’s aunt, the atmospheric music and wide-eyed youth from the start of the film are distant memories. Odile needs to grow up in order to survive. She needs to make a choice on what characters she should follow.
Like most of Godard’s films, Band of Outsiders stands as a testament of a time period and place. The Parisian suburb of Joinville is filmed with a realistic grittiness. There are no stand-in shots of the Eiffel Tower or the Seine. Instead, the viewer sees images of backwoods, dirty canals, boats that serve as small ferries, ivy growing over dilapidated mansions, ladders that take the characters from one backyard to the next. There is generally an absence of people, except for this Bonnie and Clyde triumvirate at the narrative’s center.
The music heightens the action and deceptively allows the audience to learn about Odile and her thinking in relation to these guys. There’s one memorable moment when the characters call for calmness and silence, and Godard mutes the volume of everything: the music, the background noise, the dialogue.
Band of Outsiders is a clever exploration of youth and how sometimes nefarious influences can shape a person’s trajectory. Karina, Frey and Brasseur offer believable, interesting performances, and Godard, focusing on closeups and well-staged wide shots, is able to chart their rise and fall with an auteur’s artistry.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
- Band of Outsiders
- 1964
- Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
- Based on the novel by Dolores Hitchens
- Starring Anna Karina, Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur
- Running time: 95 minutes
- Rating:
