Monday, December 15, 2008

Les Carabiniers

Jean Luc Godard directed "Les Carabiniers" in 1963, is known for being a satirical anti-war film that imagines a war in an unknown country where two brothers are approached by some carabiniers who explain their draft in a war. The brothers, along with a wife and a sister, live in a beat-down shack in the middle of nowhere. When the carabiniers attempt to persuade the brothers to come to war, the brothers willingly accept with hopes of being rewarded with lots of money.
When the brothers find themselves in war, their characters are ruthless, killing anything in sight. They are commanded by a "King," who is never shown in the film. Godard does a good job by creating intensity in the fight scenes by placing actual war footage on the screen. He also adds war-like sound effects that add a more unrealistic sense to these scenes.
One of the more memorable scenes in the movie is found towards the end, when the brothers return home. They tell their wife and sister that they have brought them prizes from around the world, yet they are all contained in one single suitcase. They reveal only photographs of places and things they promised to the girls, in a very anti-materialistic manner. One of the most visually and comically pleasing scenes in the movie is when the younger brother discovers the world of cinema. The scene where he is in the movie theater is unforgettable. The boy is curious about what is happening on screen and physically tries to see what is off-screen. He is completely in awe from the film, a wonderful portrayal of emotion by Godard.

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