Pierrot Le Fou
A road trip, an ex-girlfriend, a recently unemployed man, a dead body, and experimental sound design. What’s going on in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film Pierrot le Fou? Godard is known for his contribution to the French film “New Wave” movement, and this film is no different. Through the use of a nontraditional narrative style, in combination with an experimental film form, it is insanely difficult to keep this plot straight. Then again, what is a plot? Does the plot even matter? In Pierrot le Fou it appears that it does not. At its simplest form Pierrot le Fou is the story of Ferdinand Griffon a.k.a “Pierrot” (Jean-Paul Belmondo) a man who is recently fired from his job at a TV broadcasting company. He decides to leave his wife and child for
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In one of the scenes when Marianne is walking away from Ferdinand, she is walking through water. As she walks further and further out of sight her foot steps should become less and less noticeable, right? No. Not in this case. The splashing is just as loud as when she is standing right next to Ferdinand. In other shots of them walk through water there are no sound of splashing. Instead all that is heard is the sound of the score on the soundtrack and some white noise. It may seem like this isn’t a big deal, but it is jarring not to hear people’s footsteps in one scene and then suddenly hear them in another. This frustrating because if the sound effect isn’t heard it leaves the audience wanting to hear it. If the noise is heard, the sound levels then vary. Some of the foley sound effects are incredible loud while others are barely noticeable. This is also frustrating. By doing this, Godard is possibly making the audience as irritated as his characters seem to be. Even though the film is unsatisfying at times and hard to grasp—this is the charm of Pierrot le Fou. The film is much more aesthetically simulating and pleasing than it is plot driven. Godard keeps his audience on the edge of their seat. They are not waiting for the next plot point, but to see what outrageous technique he will employ
In one of the scenes when Marianne is walking away from Ferdinand, she is walking through water. As she walks further and further out of sight her foot steps should become less and less noticeable, right? No. Not in this case. The splashing is just as loud as when she is standing right next to Ferdinand. In other shots of them walk through water there are no sound of splashing. Instead all that is heard is the sound of the score on the soundtrack and some white noise. It may seem like this isn’t a big deal, but it is jarring not to hear people’s footsteps in one scene and then suddenly hear them in another. This frustrating because if the sound effect isn’t heard it leaves the audience wanting to hear it. If the noise is heard, the sound levels then vary. Some of the foley sound effects are incredible loud while others are barely noticeable. This is also frustrating. By doing this, Godard is possibly making the audience as irritated as his characters seem to be. Even though the film is unsatisfying at times and hard to grasp—this is the charm of Pierrot le Fou. The film is much more aesthetically simulating and pleasing than it is plot driven. Godard keeps his audience on the edge of their seat. They are not waiting for the next plot point, but to see what outrageous technique he will employ