Bande a part (Band of Outsiders, 1964, France)

First time ever that I was blown away by the extras on a DVD. Trailers of the movie and interviews with the director and main people was nice to have. However this one also had a short silent movie, a burlesque played by the same actors who were in the main feature (+Godard) directed by Agnes Varda. It was funny. But the crown was the explanations of the wordplays in the movie. It opened up layer after layer with all sorts of literary, historical and movie connections. Altogether there were over 3 dozens such little hints explained like a Verlaine poem paraphrase or references to a contemporary US pulp fiction author’s titles. The guy (Godard) is a genius, I see it better now.The movie itself is a true poem in itself. Sound, visual, acting all gave the coordinated feeling that I am experiencing something lyrical. Nad Godard played quite a bit with the extra options the medium gave him. My favorite joke was when one of the characters asked for a minute of silence in a bar and the sound of the movie was muted. The story itself was not very exciting for me. A love triangle of two man and a young, innocent woman, who got to know each other at an alternative English class (“Being able to ask for a glass of water sis less important than being able to spell Thomas Hardy’s name.”) decides to rob her house, where there is a huge amount of cash. You see, it is too simple if I put it this way, but the playfulness and interaction of the actors was superb. I have to go and check more from Godard now.

This is a top 1000 movie.