PIERROT LE FOU

Jean-Luc Godard’s exuberant, infinitely playful tale of lovers on the run formed a magnificent climax to the first phase of the directors filmmaking career. Pierrot le fou tells the story of Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a young Parisian who leaves his wife and child for beautiful babysitter Marianne (Ann Karina), an old flame. Following a night together in her apartment, which contains a crate of guns and a bloodstained corpse, the two hit the road in a series of stolen cars, heading south in flight from bourgeois existence and in search of a romantic utopia. The Mediterranean idyll they find on the coast, however, quickly turns sour. Pierrot le fou is full of cultural references and brilliantly explores different narrative genres, mixing crime, adventure, musical and comic strip elements. Filmed in beautiful primary colours, Godard’s masterpiece is still one of the most energising, exhilarating experiences the cinema has to offer.