Band of Outsiders

Bande a Part
1964
Anouchka Films
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Length: 97 min.
Country: France
Format: 35mm
Date Viewed: 19 March, 2006

Band of Outsiders is not as good as Godard's brilliant Masculine, Feminine, but it is the only other Godard film I think is any good (I have seen six, and part of a seventh, for the record).

There are many reasons to love this film: its playful attitude, Anna Karina, the muted yet beautiful cinematography by Raoul Coutard, the entire cafe/dance sequence, Anna Karina, the Louvre scene, the hilarious gags, the offbeat narration (provided by the director himself), and of course, Anna Karina.

But the reason the film is not as good as Masculine, Feminine is because Godard and company apparently had to pad the film out to a contractually obligatory 90 minute run-time, and these scenes are not hard to pick out. These various scenes (such as Anna Karina running from her house to the factory, and the guys reading the newspaper) are dull and go nowhere, detracting from the overall quality of the film.

The film as a whole is still incredibly enjoyable, though, and is strongly recommended.