Anna Karina, Dirk Sanders, Graziella Galvani

Director Jean-Luc Godard's popular 1965 drama captures '60s French cool as only Godard could depict it. After attending a mindless party full of shallow chatter, Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo) suddenl...( read more  read more... )y feels a desperate need to escape and runs away with his baby-sitter, Marianna (Anna Karina). But Marianna's dark past still haunts her, and what follows is a roller-coaster ride filled with passion and desperation as the two lovers meet their fate.

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89% liked it

6,826 ratings

Unrated, 110 min.

Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard

Release Date: January 8, 1969

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DVD Release Date: February 19, 2008

Stats: 559 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (559)


  • March 20, 2009
    Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a man unhappy with his marriage and bourgeois lifestyle, however his wealthy wife (Graziella Galvani) seems perfectly content to live a life surrounded by such shallow nonsense. Frustrated, he soon runs away with the babysitter of his two childre...( read more)n, an ex-girlfriend named Marianne (Anna Karina). Marianne has apparently killed someone as there is an unmentioned body laying on a bed in her flat. She's also involved in some way with gun-runners and her criminal brother (Dirk Sanders). The film is an extraordinarily odd gangster story that doesn't do a whole lot of explaining. That, of course, is absolutely not a bad thing - but it certainly makes for a disorienting and hard-to-follow first viewing.

    The couple makes money robbing from gas stations, influenced by Laurel and Hardy, and throughout the film it's not uncommon to see the characters talk directly to the camera or even break out into song. If there's anything to praise "Pierrot le fou" for, it's the complete neglectance of film convention, which is obviously how Godard made his name. I've seen the film praised as a bit of a "Best of Godard" compilation, and it certainly does come off as a caricature portrait of what you'd expect from the director.

    The best moments of the film take place on a beautiful beach - scenes that seem to come out of another movie entirely. Here, much like the bedroom scene in "Breathless", is where the characters get to breath. Not only was it beautifully shot, but there was such an unrestrained whimsical quality that, to compare it with a modern film, reminded me of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (settle down, Godard fans... i'm not suggesting Gondry is on his level).

    The title of the film comes from the name Marianne calls Ferdinand, "Pierrot". The reference was lost on me, but after reading a bit it's my understanding that Pierrot is the name of an archetypal "clown" from Italian stage comedy. Ferdinand objects to this name and tirelessly demands that she call him by his real name.

    Unfortunately, I wanted to like "Pierrot le fou" more than I did. It certainly felt like children at play and therefore had a dreamlike quality that felt entirely free, however I could not invest in the frequent shifts in tone. As I mentioned, I loved most of the material in the middle - but I did not care much at all for the romantic "partners in crime" tale. It didn't fit for me, and the last act caught me very much off guard. I've heard that Godard is an acquired taste, so perhaps i'll appreciate this more somewhere down the line, but I was a bit disappointed after my first viewing.

    The Criterion Collection release of "Pierrot le fou" is available on NetFlix Instant View.
  • June 19, 2009
    "It is not really a film, it's an attempt at cinema. Life is the subject, with [Cinema]Scope and color as its attributes...In short, life filling the screen as a tap fills bathtub that is simultaneously emptying at the same rate." - Jean Luc Godard

    "The film is like a battlegr...( read more)ound. Love, Hate, Action, Violence, and Death. In one word, Emotion." - Samuel Fuller
  • April 18, 2009
    I had been waiting years to finally see this on dvd and not on some crumby full-frame vhs transfer. Thank you criterion!

    This has got to be one of the most entertaining pictures of Jean Luc Godard's career. The more films I see by the enfant terrible of le Nouvelle Vague, the...( read more) more mind bogglingly apparent it becomes to me how influential the man has been on international cinema as a whole. So many modern directors borrow or just flat out rip off his diverse styles and techniques. In many examples of contemporary independent film, his cinematic innovations have even become tired cliches.

    Great film all around. Was well worth the long wait.
  • February 25, 2009
    A lot of the same Godard themes from other movies, but still so many charming little moments. "I'm glad I don't like spinach, because if I did, then I would eat it. And I can't stand the stuff."
  • February 17, 2009
    The 2 stars are for the look of the film. It is gorgeous with vibrant colors and cool Belmondo and beautiful Karina running around in the south of France. The film is nothing but a experiment mixing Noir with Surrealism. This film is all over the place and it's just not my cup ...( read more)of tea. At times it works, but after awhile you just don't care. I read that Godard didn't have a shooting script and let the actors improvise. This may not be true, but it sure feels that way and that is no way to make a film. I had to read what the film was about after I saw it. I did pick up on some things,but if you watch this dry you will not follow the story and frankly not care. It did look great, but I doubt I will ever watch it again.
  • September 18, 2009
    Very refined and stylish story brought as excellently as one Godard fan would expect, with Belmondo and Karina as great as always. Very fine film.

    86/100
  • July 19, 2009
    Não é meu preferido do Godard, mas não deixa de ser um bom filme.
  • January 25, 2009
    LETTERBOX. Entretenida "película de ideas" y flujo de consciencia, pero pierde moméntum en la segunda mitad, cuando las intenciones amenazan con ser más grandes que el resultado... Pero el final es genial, aunque no tanto como el trasero de Belmondo. / Entertaining "movie of idea...( read more)s" and flow of consciousness, but loses momentum in the second half, when the intentions threaten to be stronger than the results... But the ending is great, though not as much as Belmondo's ass.
  • December 29, 2008
    Pure, mostly stupid poetry. Their play "Vietnam War" is pretty damn realistic though. Sure.

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