Summary
Private investigator Lemmy Caution arrives in the strange town of Alphaville in search
of Professor von Braun. The detective soon discovers that he has entered a bizarre
world, totally alien to his own, where love has been abolished and emotion is punishable
by death. At the heart of this seemingly totalitarian state is a computer developed
by von Braun, Alpha-60, which seems to control the thoughts and actions of everyone in
the metropolis. With the assistance of von Braun’s daughter, Natasha, Mr Caution
gains access to Alpha-60’s headquarters, only to discover that von Braun has decided that
the time has arrived to declare war on the world outside Alphaville.
Review
If there had to be just one word to sum up Alphaville¸that word would have
to be weird. It is a film that constantly challenges our preconceptions,
our expectations, and, as a result, manages to be both deeply disturbing and very funny
at the same time.
The film begins as what appears to be a pastiche of the American detective movie of the
1950s, but then suddenly takes a dive into the Twilight Zone. What follows is a
perplexing 100 minutes of cinema that manages to be classic film noir, imaginative science-fiction,
an action-packed and suspenseful thriller and - most surprisingly of all - a very entertaining
black comedy, in the mould of Dr Strangeglove. By trying to blend so
many contrasting elements, the result could have easily been a disaster. That the
films succeeds, and succeeds admirably, is down largely to two factors.
Firstly, Eddy Constantine plays the part of Lemmy Caution throughout with total conviction,
seemingly oblivious to the fact that he is acting out a complete parody (and a very funny
one) of a character he had made his own in the preceding decade. In the 1950s, Constantine
played the hard-nosed detective in a series of French films of the traditional American
detective genre. It would have been very easy for a lesser actor to ham the part
up or downplay the character, but Constantine does neither, and the result is utterly
brilliant.
We have a familiar character transposed from a familiar milieu into a parallel universe,
where everything appears to be superficially familiar but then is shown to be a distortion
of what we see in our own world - a kind of Humphrey Bogart through the Looking Glass
. Over and over again, we are surprised at how easily we are tripped up and
misled by our own preconceptions. This would not have been possible without a strong
central character who is firmly anchored in our world - and Eddy Constantine serves this
purpose brilliantly. The fact that he works so well with his co-star, the superb
and very stylish Anna Karina, is a bonus.
Secondly, but most significantly, Alphaville’s creator, Godard, appears to be at the height
of his powers as a director. He shows complete mastery of the revolutionary cinematographic
techniques which he thrust onto an unsuspecting world in the early years of the New Wave
(the late 1950s). Far more accessible than some of Godard’s contemporary films (such
as La Chinoise and Weekend), the style is nonetheless distinctive
and fresh, somehow giving the film an extra dimension that constantly surprises and entertains.
Godard is also responsible for the script, an adaptation of a novel by Peter Cheyney,
where he manages, quite cleverly, to draw parallels between the futuristic soulless society
of Alphaville and contemporary France. (There are more than a few direct statements
to suggest that Godard regards his own country as Alphaville - for example the clever
HLM joke. Godard's France looks like ending up as an isolationist state, seeming
to have imperialistic ambitions, with its language under strict state control - not an
uncommon outside view of the country in the latter years of the 20th century, with more
than a grain of truth.)
Popular concerns about the impact of computer technology on society at the time are also
exploited by Godard, who suggests that widespread dehumanisation and total state control
will be the outcome. Not a very original observation, but the genius lies in Godard's
exploration of the idea rather than the idea itself. Nowadays, it is disturbingly
easy to draw parallels between Alphaville and the ever-expanding Bill Gates empire.
Technically, the film appears to succeed at every level. Script, direction, sets,
photography - all are superbly crafted and brought together to create a world as real
as our own, yet totally alien. Paul Misraki’s enigmatic background music adds
to the eerie other-wordly atmosphere of the ensemble.
Overall, an amazing film that never ceases to surprise and shock. Some many find
the end product a little uncomfortable or too off-the-wall, but it is nonetheless a watchable
and satisfying piece of cinema.
A dark and very frightening thriller, a comic pastiche of detective films, a moving love
story, a sci-fi movie with a power-mad (and asthmatic) computer… how Godard managed to
pull this one off is probably one of the great mysteries of cinema history.
© James Travers 2002
For more on Jean-Luc Godard see:
The life of Jean-Luc Godard
Best of the French New Wave
A bout de souffle
Vivre sa vie
Masculin, féminin
Le Mépris
Pierrot le fou
Eloge de l'amour
For more on Lemmy Caution see:
La Môme vert-de-gris
Les Femmes s'en balancent
Buy films by Jean-Luc Godard
Buy films starring Jean-Paul Belmondo
More about the French New Wave
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