A masterpiece of film noir and social satire wrapped in a tough-guy movie narrative; Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 flick “Alphaville” whisks viewers into a world trapped in perpetual darkness. Set in a technological dictatorship, the film is an unsettling journey of repetitive narration and startling visuals intended to draw viewers into a hypnotic trance.
The movie’s main plotline, the fear of sentient technology seizing control over every aspect of human life, still resonates emphatically today. Starring Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution, a trench coat-clad detective known by his ID number, 003, the film represents the palpable fear of computers omnipresent in 1960s cinema and society at large.
The character of Lemmy embodies the unpredictable, rebellious human spirit found in popular culture through films featuring gangsters, detectives, and hard-edged Westerns alike. As an ever-present symbol of free will under threat of technological subjugation, Lemmy resonates with shades of the novel and film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
However, the movie certainly showcases elements of misogyny common to its genre. It largely depicts women as schemers or damsels in distress. Regardless, the women in the film, particularly Godard's muse Anna Karina, embody such intensity and confidence that they become captivating pillars of life against the film’s dark backdrop.
“Alphaville” imbues Lemmy with a loving homage to American genre films from previous eras. Despite his character originally being from modern-day literature, the rough around the edges, '40s-style detective is transported into the future, making him a science fiction relative of Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe. Despite his weary, less glamorous image, Lemmy captures the essence of World War II veterans in the 1960s, connecting "Alphaville" to the societal undertones of film noir.
Fans of seminal sci-fi films such as “Blade Runner” and “Brazil” will recognize the seeds of their beloved movies in "Alphaville," especially in its meandering storytelling style. The narrative ambles from one scene to the next, often lacking connective elements, and when the plot does focus, it seems almost out of obligation.
Following its own dream logic, Alphaville, restored in 4K glory, makes its mesmerizing return at the IFC Centre, inviting viewers once again to plunge into its swirling pool of shadows and sentient technology, a vibrantly dystopian slice of 1960s cinema.
