Inquiring Minds: ALPHAVILLE (1965)

This is the column that digs into the science fiction lover’s world, tackling some of the most complex and perplexing that content allows. Is it weird? Most likely. Do we love it? Yes! It’ll likely be thought-provoking, and potentially illuminating. Intriguing minds, unite for the weirdest Film Inquiry Column yet.

Writer/director Jean-Luc Godard isn’t exactly who comes to mind when you’re thinking about science fiction. However, his 1965 jaunt into the genre is one of the strangest, most random cinematic experiences I’ve had. To say this is a unique film is to really do an injustice to the word itself.

This is a puzzling affair, one that flirts frequently with nonsense and yet flourishes with poetic musings on love and existence. There were a lot of times throughout this conceptually bizarre narrative that I was struck by inexplicable laughter, and then others where I felt genuinely moved. Art is a funny thing… our individual perceptions and reactions to films and TV can be such a personal experience. This film takes so many zigzags, and eludes so many coherencies that at times it can be a bit maddening. However, for me, I found the disorganization fascinating, because I truly had no idea where this was going to end up. It’s a philosophical mash-up, and it is an experience.

Part detective noir, and part science-fiction, Jean-Luc Godard infuses his usual style of filmmaking, with the new wave style, but places it in a unique template for him to explore a new narrative range. This is drastically different than his previous work which makes this film, one I just only recently discovered, impressive.

The “Story”

Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) arrives in Alphaville, with a quintessential trench coat, hat, and detective austere, to a place where “Alpha 60” runs humanity. Spoken in voiceover (that sounds surprisingly like Palpatine from Star Wars, yet decidedly more sinister and cryptic), it’s evident early on that this is a bleak place. He discovers this more as he continues to explore its depths.

Feeling of any kind is punishable by a horrible death, and this is something that keeps everyone in a robotic-like line. Lemmy’s entire investigative purpose remains a bit unkempt, but his persistence is nonetheless active. He mentions he is from the outer planets, and he is looking for a spy who has disappeared, Henri Dickson (Akim Tamiroff). He meets Karina (Natacha Von Braun) the daughter of the builder of Alphaville, and someone he becomes transfixed by right away. This is where the film begins its other venture, that of romance and poetic idling. If there’s one thing you will ultimately feel, it is the rhythmic pull of the language within Alphaville. 

The inhabitants of Alphaville seem brainwashed, programmed to an existence that feels rich and yet depleted at the same time. I did find that the film didn’t feel like it has aged. In many ways, a lot of the themes and characteristics are valid today, specifically those of political control. The script is inventive, satirical, and outwardly convoluted, yet it is somehow targeted in a sense that makes me feel like it’s wholly the auteur production we should expect.

It’s aesthetically rich as much as it is devoid of the conventional beauty of many other Godard‘s films. Stark and harsh photography are on par with the lyrical essence of the dialogue, and most are often seemingly random, but I have an idea that it’s exactly what was expected. This doesn’t ignore any of the general dark themes but ultimately makes them into a combination of genres.

Some may find the film tedious, especially in its stretched-out format (despite only being 98 minutes) making each scene a roll of the dice. Is there a purpose? Alphaville is an intellectually driven, emotionally confounding film that relives much of its previous noir inspirations with the ambition that Godard had while making it a narrative departure.

There are a lot of social commentaries worked in, with a dystopian edge that makes some elements eerily familiar. The film challenges the audience, undoubtedly, as its morbid and obscure tendencies can seem to make you a bit winded at times. At the end of the day, a good science-fiction film should make us ponder, relish in its wonder, and ultimately feel bewildered, in a good way. Alphaville does that.

Conclusion: Alphaville

Visually stunning, but ultimately peculiar, Alphaville doesn’t exactly bear the definition. The deliberate attempts to unease, and extend our curiosity in a stylish display make this darkly enticing film stand out.

Have you seen Alphaville? What are your thoughts on this auteur’s take on a noir sci-fi? Let us know in the comments below!

Alphaville is currently available on the Criterion Channel. 

Watch Alphaville