Pierrot le Fou (1965) dir Jean-Luc Godard

"Life may be sad, but it's always beautiful"

Today we pay tribute to one of the greats of modern cinema, the late Jean-Luc Godard. We recorded this conversation before the recent announcement of his passing, so we've brought our discussion of Pierrot le Fou forward on our release schedule. Godard is a filmmaker who means a lot to us all at Autism Through Cinema. His unfailingly maverick approach to the cinematic art form serves as a profound expression of what can be possible in this medium with an outlook alternative to the mainstream.

Lillian, David and Ethan fall in love again with Godard's technicolour masterpiece. Pierrot le Fou is a meandering road movie about love, freedom, and disconnection, based on Lionel White's 1962 novel Obsession. We reflect on the neurodivergent sensibilities of the two protagonists, particularly Anna Karina's mesmerising performance as Marianne, while also considering how the techniques and directions of the French New Wave align with autistic ways of thinking.

This episode features a specially-recorded introduction by Lillian Crawford paying tribute to Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.

Do you have any thoughts or tributes to Godard? Send them to us on cinemautism@gmail.com and we'll happily read them out on a future episode.