Weekend

Weekend
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard 1967

I have to preface this review by saying Godard is one of my favorite directors. He never fails to entertain yet stimulate the mind with the ideas he puts forth through his films.

That being said, Weekend is one of the best movies I have seen. It is not for everyone though. Weekend is very abstract, blurring and distorting time, continuity, plot, and just about anything else you can think of.

Mereille Darc plays Corinne and Jean Yanne plays Roland. The film is loosely structured around the story element that Roland is attempting to strike it rich off of Corrine's father who is about to die. They attempt to go to Corrine's father before he dies and insanity insues.

Godard admittedly said that one aspect of this film was designed to shock the audience, and by the content of the film this attempt is very obvious. From frank sexual discussions that still seem shockingly pornographic even by today's standards, to scenes of cannabalism decorated with a blood soaked chef sticking eggs and fish between a woman's legs before they eat her, shocking imagery and content abounds.

Focusing purely on those aspects would guarantee that you would miss the point and the pure fun, sometimes strikingly black humor that permeates the film.

As you may guess Corrine and Roland run into many obstacles in trying to reach her father. Through this obstacles the film spins off in directions that operate on both philosophical and sociological layers.

Class, gender, and racial issues abound, but nothing strikes more home then the scathing critque of the then socio-political culture that pervaded society at the time and is still prevelant today.

A telling moment in the film revolves around the statement of one character who suggests that the horror of the bourgeoisie can only be realized by showing it and then showing more horror. Working off of that statement you can divide this film into two parts: the first part being the outlining of the horror of the bourgeoisie and the second part being an extreme absurdist take on the bourgeoisie that consequently adds more horror.

Despite this Godard manages to maintain a level of entertainment and humor that is combined with the powerful urge to follow a narrative that is spun in such a way that the audience is left constantly guessing at what will happen next.

You never really are asked to relate to the characters, but Weekend is a rare instance of a film that a connection with the characters is not a requirement for the thourough enjoyment of the film.

If you're willing to expand your boundaries while putting up with potentially offensive content that serves a much deeper purpose, you owe it to yourself to watch this film.

**** Four stars