onetwothreefour
Bluelight Crew
here&there, if you still read bluelight, i'm sure you'll be interested (i searched for references to this film, and all that i could find was posted by here&there in the v&pa forum! 
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It is a credit to Godard's talent, intelligence, and vision, that the film is so oddly relevant some forty years after it was made. And to think, computers in his day existed only on such a basic level, that he could even begin to see the potential social and political outcomes of the technology. Of course, the film is not an accurate representation of our society (even if you transplant the Alpha-madness from "another galaxy" back to earth), but the Orwellian themes of a controlled state, is somewhat foreboding, and threads of it are easily identifiable in our seemingly growing conservatism.
France, whilst being at the forefront of a liberal society, seems even to be turning back, with recent news of the outlawing of Muslim head-scarves at high schools - the world is turning into a horrible cross between Godard's vision and the current conservative America.
From the beginning, "Ivan Johnson" (who we later learn to be Lemmy Caution, a secret agent sent to spy on Alphaville from "the Outlands") is at odds with the technological dependant society, with his old-fashioned yet ubiquitous camera, and obvious distaste for the planet's automated systems. This is an absurd yet strangely "real" world, and Johnson's caution towards it are echoed (hopefully, they certainly were with mine) by our own responses to what we are seeing - the computer, Alpha-60, which "runs" the entire city/planet is one based on logic - when interrogating Caution it is caught out by his response with poetry, a form of expression which - though full of depth and meaning - is illogical at its very base level, and therefore entirely impossible for the machine to interpret.
It is this contrast - between the reality of our natural humanist urges and responses and the disturbing, detached and cold rationality and logic from the computer - that gives the film its resonance. Godard's direction is as perfect as ever: refusing to shoot the film as he typically would, he instead gives the film a detached feeling, taking us away from the "heart" of the action, instead preferring to have us merely witness the horrible workings of the world.
Also, though I would presume that the odds of Kylie Minogue or her "people" would be so literate, I couldn't help but notice Lemmy's response to Natasha's request for help at the end of the film - "Impossible, Princess". Could it be that this is where Kylie's album title came from, or am I being perhaps a little too optimistic?
As some have pointed out, the performances in this film are somewhat less interesting than one might expect from a Godard film (though it is, of course, hard to figure whether to blame the director or the actors themselves for this folly), but this is really the only way to fault the film. Godard's low-budget use of the modern Paris is inspired, really pushing home his contention that as scary as this future world is, it's not nearly as scary as the fact that they were practically already living it. If nothing else, this film at least proves Godard's genius, through its brilliant allegorical concepts and foresight.
).It is a credit to Godard's talent, intelligence, and vision, that the film is so oddly relevant some forty years after it was made. And to think, computers in his day existed only on such a basic level, that he could even begin to see the potential social and political outcomes of the technology. Of course, the film is not an accurate representation of our society (even if you transplant the Alpha-madness from "another galaxy" back to earth), but the Orwellian themes of a controlled state, is somewhat foreboding, and threads of it are easily identifiable in our seemingly growing conservatism.
France, whilst being at the forefront of a liberal society, seems even to be turning back, with recent news of the outlawing of Muslim head-scarves at high schools - the world is turning into a horrible cross between Godard's vision and the current conservative America.
From the beginning, "Ivan Johnson" (who we later learn to be Lemmy Caution, a secret agent sent to spy on Alphaville from "the Outlands") is at odds with the technological dependant society, with his old-fashioned yet ubiquitous camera, and obvious distaste for the planet's automated systems. This is an absurd yet strangely "real" world, and Johnson's caution towards it are echoed (hopefully, they certainly were with mine) by our own responses to what we are seeing - the computer, Alpha-60, which "runs" the entire city/planet is one based on logic - when interrogating Caution it is caught out by his response with poetry, a form of expression which - though full of depth and meaning - is illogical at its very base level, and therefore entirely impossible for the machine to interpret.
It is this contrast - between the reality of our natural humanist urges and responses and the disturbing, detached and cold rationality and logic from the computer - that gives the film its resonance. Godard's direction is as perfect as ever: refusing to shoot the film as he typically would, he instead gives the film a detached feeling, taking us away from the "heart" of the action, instead preferring to have us merely witness the horrible workings of the world.
Also, though I would presume that the odds of Kylie Minogue or her "people" would be so literate, I couldn't help but notice Lemmy's response to Natasha's request for help at the end of the film - "Impossible, Princess". Could it be that this is where Kylie's album title came from, or am I being perhaps a little too optimistic?
As some have pointed out, the performances in this film are somewhat less interesting than one might expect from a Godard film (though it is, of course, hard to figure whether to blame the director or the actors themselves for this folly), but this is really the only way to fault the film. Godard's low-budget use of the modern Paris is inspired, really pushing home his contention that as scary as this future world is, it's not nearly as scary as the fact that they were practically already living it. If nothing else, this film at least proves Godard's genius, through its brilliant allegorical concepts and foresight.
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