By Michael Colford
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Akim Tamiroff | Anna Karina | Eddie Constantine
Original language title: Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution
Country: france, italy
Year: 1965
Running time: 99
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058898/reference
Michael says: “It was about 30 minutes into ALPHAVILLE when I realized I don’t think I like Godard’s films. Now I’ve only seen two, this one and BREATHLESS, so I am still open to more (BAND OF OUTSIDERS and VIVRE SA VIE are still on my list, but so far, I’m not a fan. I see the stylishness, the attitude, the visual skill, but there’s something about his films that leave me cold.
“In ALPHAVILLE, Godard tackles science fiction. Government agent, Lemmy Caution, is sent to the distant city of Alphaville on a missing persons hunt, and to take down a despotic ruler who has created the Alpha 60, a computer that allows him to brainwash the residents of the City. He is aided by the sometimes-brainwashed daughter of the despot himself, Natacha Von Braun. I’m sure there’s an important message in here about free will and the burgeoning cold war that was so present in the 60’s, but it was lost in the frankly silly malarky that we were forced to endure on screen. 2 cats“