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| Dear diary.... |
I write this diary after recently seeing
Ken Loache’s: Sweet Sixteen. I’d
rather not talk about this latest screening as it too well emulated growing up
living with a Scottish side to your family; minus the drugs and murder. Sweet sixteen came across as a ‘rags to
riches’ story; it could be described as a young ‘scarface’, set in Glasgow.
Personally I felt Loache captured a reality that was perhaps more relatable to
the mockingly stereotypical Scotsmen it portrays. However, I make the
assumption that most of the students appreciated this film over another film
previously screened, Pierrot le fou (1965).
P.L.F is a French film that
culturally fits into the ‘new wave’ era. The film follows the ‘Bonnie and
Clyde’ antics of Fernando (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and his femme fatale mistress,
Marianne (Anna Karina). The film was directed by the unique talent Jean Luc
Godard; known for making films that are hard to watch for many. The renowned
film critic Roger Ebert mentions the barrage of emails he receives about the
films of Godard; to quote Roger from a rewrite of his original 1966 review of
the film: ‘You probably won't like ‘Pierrot le
Fou’.”
Godard exhibits in P.L.F a technique mainly associated with theatre, known as
‘breaking the fourth wall’. This aptly named technique means to directly
communicate with the audience, in a way that recognizes that a play is being
performed. Suddenly making this jump from fiction and reality allows the
audience to look at the actions on stage from an abnormal perspective. By
emulating this, P.L.F recognizes that
film is not ‘reality’ by talking directly to the viewer. At 39:41, Fernando
looks at the camera whilst driving and quips regarding Marianne; ‘All she
thinks about is fun’. When she asks whom the comment was meant for, he replies;
‘The audience’. No better example of ‘breaking the fourth wall’ could be given.
The technique is further referenced at 01:39:17; the soundtrack purrs a gentle
melody, Ferdinand engages with a gentleman who seems distraught by the music.
However, Ferdinand cannot hear the music. The gentleman then starts an engaging
monologue regarding his relationship with the music we all can hear, apart from
Fernando. When compared to today’s screening, P.L.F seems poles apart. But Godard and Loache share a commonality
through one of their major influences in the sixties, namely Berthold Brecht;
the first theatre director to champion the ‘fourth wall’ concept. To use
Loache’s own words; “It was the time of the French new wave, it was the time of
a great interest in Brecht and exposing the mechanism of drama was something we
talked a lot about”. This similarity can be better recognized in Loache’s
earlier work. In his book The cinema of
Ken Loach, Jacob Leigh mentions that Brecht’s influence was strongest in Loache’s film; The End of Arthur’s Marriage (1965). It
is no coincidence that P.L.F was
released the same year that this film was released. Remembering the sixties in
hindsight, Loache explains why he didn’t carry on a trend of using ‘brechtian’
techniques in his films; “But the danger of it as a technique to sustain for a
long time was that it could become mannered”. Godard however, continued to use
the technique.
Godard’s later work would show a deeper
affiliation to the ideals shared by Brecht. The
Routledge companion to theatre and performance explains that Brecht had a
strong belief in Marxism. In P.L.F we
see Godard’s views on touchy subjects including consumerism and the Vietnam War
being expressed. At 06:12 Fernando attends a party hosted by his wife’s
parents; the characters assembled at the party simply drone on about products
they have purchased or would like to purchase. They restlessly informally
advertise cars and cosmetics while Ferdinand passes them on the search for
something to call interesting. He finally finds it in notable American auteur
Samuel Fuller, this is only brief solitude as Ferdinand delves back into the
consumer driven wasteland. The film doesn’t just poke fun at the bourgeoisie;
at 56:35 Fernando and his partner put on a show for some American naval
officers on shore leave in order to earn money. They draw an image of Mao Zedong
and Fidel Castro crudely with chalk under the moniker; ‘modern day slaves’. Not
amusing the soldiers they change their approach. They perform a racially
stereotypical performance entitled ‘Uncle Sam’s nephew versus Uncle Ho’s
niece’. Regarding America’s history with Vietnam this reference can be referred
to as ‘on the nose’. Ferdinand’s character points a gun at the audience; in a
mocking American accent, he addresses Hollywood with the message; ‘communist,
yeah’. This intense moment gives an indication that the films director was
sending a direct message. Godard seemed to go through a ‘transition from
cinephilism to radicalism’ according to the book The radical faces of Godard and Bertolucci. Godard it seems focused
more fully on anti-capitalist thoughts later in his career.
R.
Ebert, 1965. Pierrot le Fou review [online] copyright 2012,
rogerebert.com Available at: <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19661010/REVIEWS/908240301/1023 > [Accessed 30 January
2012].
The cinema of Ken
Loach: art in the service of the people, J. Leigh, 2002,
London, New York, Wallflower Press (pg.32)
The Routledge
companion to theatre and performance, P. Allain, J Harvie. 2005, Taylor and
Francis (Routledge) (pg. 29)
The radical faces of Godard and Bertolucci, Y. Loshitzky. (1995) Wayne State Univ. Press (pg. 54)
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