Northwest Film Center shows Godard’s Band of Outsiders

Watch out Bonnie and Clyde or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—here comes Arthur, Franz and Odile, and they are set to live the lives of gangsters…or at least they are going to try.

Topping off their Classic French Crime Films exhibition, the Northwest Film Center presents the “Band of Outsiders,” director Jean-Luc Godard’s 1964 film of crime and romance, and the youth who aspire to the pop-culture that glorifies it. If you are aware of Godard’s work, you most likely know what to expect—steeped in the French New Wave and a bit existential.

“Band of Outsiders” tells the tale of Arthur and Franz, two young men with a fondness for their fair share of American films—especially those filled with crime and gangsters. Arthur and Franz drive around Paris together getting their kicks. They meet the young and beautiful Odile in an English class and both become smitten. They manage their competing affections once Odile tells them an interesting little fact about the villa where she lives, and the large sum of money that can be found there. This gets the boys thinking, eventually including Odile in their scheme—they plan to rob the villa in a grand heist worthy of Hollywood.

Arthur seems a bit older than his companions, and perhaps as such uses this to his advantage. As with all the characters in this film, Arthur is more than he appears. Franz is too, though perhaps not as obvious. His thoughts seem to stretch a bit deeper than his companions.

Both boys are caught between adoring Odile, and merely using her as a means to an end in order to complete their crime. Odile, in turn, is clearly drawn to Arthur over Franz, but can be caught with a lingering gaze in his direction from time to time. While the film’s central plot revolves around the caper at hand, this love triangle takes up an equal portion of the stage. Who will win Odile? On the other hand, who Odile will choose is just as much of the story as how they will pull off their scheme.

While “Band of Outsiders” is more immediately a straightforward film, it also carries with it a level of campiness—a famous dance sequence is included, along with a blaring moment of silence, and a highly noticeable breaking of the “fourth wall” rather blatantly strikes the audience’s eyes. Such moments become defining and the most memorable of the film.

Perhaps adding as much to the camp as it does the depth of the film is Godard’s own narration interjecting into the film. Godard’s voiceover is like listening to lines from an eloquent yet straightforward book read aloud. In case viewers didn’t realize (as if it were possible to) that Franz what wondering if the world was a dream or if dreams were becoming the world, Godard make sure they do.

With all these factors in play, interacting to construct a complex film, “Band of Outsiders” doesn’t come off as overly complex and is rather enjoyable to watch from either the perspective of a strict film geek, or a basic movie goer. The film will show twice this weekend at the Northwest Film Center. ?