Bande à part
Encyclopedia
Bande à part is a 1964
Nouvelle vague film directed by Jean-Luc Godard
. It was released as Band of Outsiders in North America
; its French title derives from the phrase faire bande à part, which means "to do something apart from the group."
The film is an adaptation of the novel Fools' Gold (Doubleday Crime Club
, 1958) by American author Dolores Hitchens
(1907–1973).
The film belongs to the French New Wave
movement. Godard described it as "Alice in Wonderland meets Franz Kafka
".
) meets would-be criminals Arthur (Claude Brasseur
) and Franz (Sami Frey
) in an English language
class. At some point, she tells Franz that there is a large amount of money stashed in the villa where she lives with her Aunt Victoria and a certain Mr. Stoltz in Joinville
near Paris
; and Franz and Arthur persuade her to assist them in staging a robbery in her own home.
Meanwhile, both Franz and Arthur try to seduce Odile, with Arthur being the more successful.
Unfortunately, Arthur's uncle somehow learns of their plot and wants to commit the robbery himself. This forces Franz, Arthur, and Odile to rush into the robbery faster than they would have liked. Moreover, by this time, Mr. Stoltz has grown suspicious of Odile's behavior, has hidden his money, and has changed the locks on all the doors.
When they arrive, Franz and Arthur tie up Odile's Aunt Victoria and stash her in an armoire. They only find a small amount of cash on hand, and when they return to threaten Aunt Victoria further, they find that she is no longer breathing. They decide to flee the scene as soon as possible, but after they are on their way Arthur returns alone on the pretext of verifying that Victoria is, in fact, dead.
In fact, having realized that most of the money had been hidden in the doghouse, Arthur plans to take it all for himself. Driving along the highway, Franz sees Arthur's uncle heading in the direction of the villa, so he and Odile return to the house in time to see Arthur be shot by his uncle and shoot his uncle in return. At this point, Mr. Stoltz arrives and snatches up his money, and Aunt Victoria (who we presume was playing dead) rushes out of the house.
Odile and Franz take their money and buy passage on a ship to South America
. The movie ends with the promise of a sequel chronicling Odile and Franz' adventures in America.
Noted critic Pauline Kael described Bande à part as "a reverie of a gangster movie" and "perhaps Godard's most delicately charming film".
Ranked #79 in Empire
magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
1964 in film
The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
Nouvelle vague film directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
. It was released as Band of Outsiders in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
; its French title derives from the phrase faire bande à part, which means "to do something apart from the group."
The film is an adaptation of the novel Fools' Gold (Doubleday Crime Club
The Crime Club
The Crime Club was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series.Many classic and popular works of detective and mystery fiction had their first U.S. editions published via the Crime Club, including all 50 books of The Saint by Leslie Charteris...
, 1958) by American author Dolores Hitchens
Dolores Hitchens
Julia Clara Catharine Dolores Birk Olsen Hitchens , better known as Dolores Hitchens, was an American mystery novelist who wrote prolifically from 1938 until her death. She also wrote under the pseudonyms D. B...
(1907–1973).
The film belongs to the French New Wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
movement. Godard described it as "Alice in Wonderland meets Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
".
Plot
Odile (Anna KarinaAnna Karina
Anna Karina is a Danish film actress, director, and screenwriter who has spent most of her working life in France. Karina is known as a muse of the director, Jean-Luc Godard, one of the pioneers of the French New Wave...
) meets would-be criminals Arthur (Claude Brasseur
Claude Brasseur
-Biography:He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He is the godson of Ernest Hemingway and the father of Alexandre Brasseur....
) and Franz (Sami Frey
Sami Frey
Sami Frey, born Samuel Frei is a French actor. Perhaps his most famous films are En compagnie d'Antonin Artaud and Bande à part...
) in an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
class. At some point, she tells Franz that there is a large amount of money stashed in the villa where she lives with her Aunt Victoria and a certain Mr. Stoltz in Joinville
Joinville-le-Pont
Joinville-le-Pont is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:The commune was created in 1791 under the name La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur by detaching its territory from the commune of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés...
near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; and Franz and Arthur persuade her to assist them in staging a robbery in her own home.
Meanwhile, both Franz and Arthur try to seduce Odile, with Arthur being the more successful.
Unfortunately, Arthur's uncle somehow learns of their plot and wants to commit the robbery himself. This forces Franz, Arthur, and Odile to rush into the robbery faster than they would have liked. Moreover, by this time, Mr. Stoltz has grown suspicious of Odile's behavior, has hidden his money, and has changed the locks on all the doors.
When they arrive, Franz and Arthur tie up Odile's Aunt Victoria and stash her in an armoire. They only find a small amount of cash on hand, and when they return to threaten Aunt Victoria further, they find that she is no longer breathing. They decide to flee the scene as soon as possible, but after they are on their way Arthur returns alone on the pretext of verifying that Victoria is, in fact, dead.
In fact, having realized that most of the money had been hidden in the doghouse, Arthur plans to take it all for himself. Driving along the highway, Franz sees Arthur's uncle heading in the direction of the villa, so he and Odile return to the house in time to see Arthur be shot by his uncle and shoot his uncle in return. At this point, Mr. Stoltz arrives and snatches up his money, and Aunt Victoria (who we presume was playing dead) rushes out of the house.
Odile and Franz take their money and buy passage on a ship to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The movie ends with the promise of a sequel chronicling Odile and Franz' adventures in America.
Cast
- Anna KarinaAnna KarinaAnna Karina is a Danish film actress, director, and screenwriter who has spent most of her working life in France. Karina is known as a muse of the director, Jean-Luc Godard, one of the pioneers of the French New Wave...
- Odile - Danièle Girard - English Teacher
- Louisa Colpeyn - Madame Victoria
- Chantal Darget - Arthur's Aunt
- Sami FreySami FreySami Frey, born Samuel Frei is a French actor. Perhaps his most famous films are En compagnie d'Antonin Artaud and Bande à part...
- Franz - Claude BrasseurClaude Brasseur-Biography:He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He is the godson of Ernest Hemingway and the father of Alexandre Brasseur....
- Arthur - Georges Staquet - Le légionnaire
- Ernest Menzer - Arthur's Uncle
- Jean-Claude Rémoleux - L'élève buveur d'alcool
Famous scenes
- A minute of silence: In one scene, Arthur, Franz, and Odile are in a crowded café and decide to observe a minute of silence; as they do so the film's soundtrack is plunged into complete silence. This silence actually lasts only 36 seconds and is interrupted by Franz, who says "Enough of that."
- The Madison scene: Shortly after, Odile and Arthur decide to dance. Franz joins them as they perform a dance routine. The music is R&B or soul musicSoul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
composed for the film by Michel LegrandMichel LegrandMichel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
, but Anna Karina said the actors called it "the MadisonMadison (dance)The Madison is a novelty dance that was popular in the late 1950s to mid 1960s. The Madison was created and first danced in Columbus, Ohio, in 1957. The local popularity of the dance and record in Baltimore, Maryland, came to the attention of the producers of The Buddy Deane Show in 1960...
dance." This scene influenced the dance scene with Uma ThurmanUma ThurmanUma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
and John TravoltaJohn TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
in Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
. (A further Tarantino connection is in the name of his film production company, A Band ApartA Band ApartA Band Apart Films was a production company created by Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender, which was active from 1991 to about 2006. Its name is a play on the French New Wave classic, Bande à part by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, whose work was highly influential on the work of the company's members...
.) It also influenced scenes in Hal HartleyHal HartleyHal Hartley is an American film director, screenwriter, producer composer, who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and 1990s...
's Simple MenSimple MenSimple Men is a 1992 American film written and directed by Hal Hartley, starring Robert John Burke, Bill Sage, Karen Sillas and Martin Donovan. It was the debut film of actress Holly Marie Combs in a supporting role...
and Martin HynesMartin HynesMartin Hynes is an American screenwriter, director, actor and producer of independent films.-Life and career:Hynes was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon and has a bachelors degree in history from Columbia University....
' The Go-GetterThe Go-getterCosmopolitan, and in the United Kingdom in the August 1931 Strand. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere , although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to...
The entire dance scene was also used as the music video for the song "Dance with Me", by the music group Nouvelle VagueNouvelle Vague (band)Nouvelle Vague is a French musical collective led by musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux. Their name is a play on words, meaning "new wave" in French, and "bossa nova" in Portuguese...
from their 2006 album Bande à Part. The group took their name from a scene in the movie, where Odile and Arthur are walking on a street and pass a business with Nouvelle Vague (New Wave or New Trend) in large letters over the door.
- The Louvre scene: In one scene, the characters attempt to break the world record for running through the LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. And the narration informs that their time was nine minutes and 43 seconds which broke the record set by Jimmy Johnson of San Francisco. That scene is referenced in Bernardo BertolucciBernardo BertolucciBernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
's The Dreamers (2003), in which its characters break the Louvre record.
Status
Bande à part is often considered one of Godard's most accessible films; Amy Taubin of the Village Voice called it "a Godard film for people who don't much care for Godard". Its accessibility has endeared the film to a broader audience. For example, it was the only Godard film selected for Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 movies.Noted critic Pauline Kael described Bande à part as "a reverie of a gangster movie" and "perhaps Godard's most delicately charming film".
Ranked #79 in Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.