reflection

I haven’t been able to forget The Madison scene from Godard’s Bande a Part (1964) all day. I watched it after class was over, I watched it whilst I ate my lunch, I showed my boyfriend, my best friend and now I feel the need to post about it before I watch it yet again and revisit the clip in my sleep.

What mesmerises me about it is the way that Godard’s naturalistic framework divulges so much about character. Beginning with the director’s ironic voiceover – “Now’s the time to describe their feelings.” – we as the audience learn about the protagonist’s emotions: Arthur who pines for Odile, Odile who wonders if her breasts are noticeable and Franz who is having an existential crisis. The dialogue itself is beautiful, which is a classic product of new wave French cinema.

To compliment this narration is of course the dance steps themselves, which speak volumes about who the three youths are. Ana Karina who is rigid and sophisticated yet dressed like a thirteen-year old shy schoolgirl, Sami Frey who glides and clicks with the confidence of a womaniser and lastly Claud Brasseur who is really just trying his best (but he gets the girl so I guess it’s okay?)

Any who, the iconic scene exudes an aura of effortlessness and it would be interesting to try and imitate a one-take sequence in my own final project.