Week End (1967)

directed by Jean-Luc Godard
with: Mireille Darc, Jean Yanne

This is a cinematographic experience like no other, it's impressive and hypnotic, mind altering. It's hard to talk about this movie, because it's hard to know where to start. Week End is about everything, it goes everywhere and experiments with everything and it is so entertaining and visually shocking that all I can say is that this movie has to be seen. It experiments with long tracking shots and 360 degree scenes. It plays with cannibalism in almost a beautiful way, sociopolitical ideologies in an anarchic way, bourgeois values in a satirical way, sexual experiences in an explicit way, relationships in a convenient way, religious ideas in a dangerous way and at the same time, so many other themes are part of this film like jealousy, betrayal, survival, indifference, love, murder and chaos. A pig is killed with a hammer. All taboos are destroyed.

This is a surrealist piece that at times reminds me of Buñuel (visually, thematically and rhythmically), specifically to The Phantom of Liberty. Godard throws all his magic and skill into this film and creates a monstrous masterpiece that may change the way you see film forever. In Week End, the movie is part of the film, it is almost a character, and characters in the film are aware that they are in a film and sometimes they can even distinguish the characters that are part of the 'reality' of the film from the ones that are part of the making of the film, (like the Italian production team, who are identified) and the ones that are imaginary (from the Lewis Carrol scene).

After watching this film you've probably reached 'the end of cinema', as the titles suggest at the end, because that is basically as crazy and apocalyptic as it can get. Godard definitely reached the end of an era. My favorite Godard so far.

Must see.
Rating: 9.5/10