Week End (1967)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard (writer)

Release Date:

27 September 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A supposedly idyllic weekend trip to the countryside turns into a never-ending nightmare of traffic jams...

Plot Keywords:

Traffic Jam | Terrorism | Murder | Cannibalism | Car Crash

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mireille Darc	...	Corinne Durand
Jean Yanne	...	Roland Durand
Jean-Pierre Kalfon	...	Le chef du Front de Libération de la Seine et Oise

Also Known As:

Le week-end
Week-End
Week-end, un uomo e una donna dal sabato alla domenica (Italy)
Weekend (USA) (promotional title)
Fim-de-Semana (Portugal) [pt]
Utflykt i det gröna (Sweden) [sv]
Víkend (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
Viikonloppu (Finland) [fi]
Week End (Argentina) [es]
Week-end (Greece) [el]
Weekend (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 | France:-16 | Portugal:M/18 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (re-release) | UK:18 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Comacico

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies".

Quotes:

Woman in Car: Are you in a film or in reality?
Joesph Balsam: In a film.
Man in Car: In a film? You lie too much.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in John and Mary (1969)

Soundtrack:

Allo, tu m'entends

the odd moment of perplexity is of no consequence and even increases the mystery

What a wonderful film! Coming back to this film after almost 40 years I am astonished at how invigorating and inspiring it remains. Moreover the passing of time has been very kind to this movie and revealed it to be far more influential and perceptive than one would ever have imagined. It was several years after this was released that we began to notice a black underbelly to the cultural revolution in the West. Not all free love and flowers we were to have to realise as Polanski's wife and friends were massacred and the summer of love began to go so wrong. Moreover, some of the direct political statements that seemed a little forced at the time now look startlingly pure and, once again, perceptive. Even ignoring the political aspect to the film it is a marvel to watch and so amusing. Not every scene makes total sense but we are swept along with so many exciting notions and provocative ideas to digest that the odd moment of perplexity is of no consequence and even increases the mystery. We are constantly convinced that every frame, every sound and every caption makes complete sense to Goddard and that is enough, even if we have to occasionally struggle to keep up. I haven't mentioned the graphic depictions of sex, death, cannibalism and more but then I think in some ways these elements put off potential viewers and they shouldn't. This has to be one of the great movies.