Alphaville

Godard wrote the screenplay himself, using the dystopian sci-fi genre to express his personal reflections and worries about a society — contemporary society — dominated by a faceless power that strips away individuality, turning people into robotic entities.

Alphaville, a nightmarish city ruled by a completely logical, rational supercomputer, is reminiscent of Orwell’s Oceania in several regards: 1. words are banned to prevent people from thinking and experiencing emotions deemed dangerous (which reminds us of the two-way correlation between thought and language); 2. broad deployment of police and surveillance measures; 3. manipulation of the element of time by the central authorities (in this case, even the past and future are eventually eliminated); 4. capital punishment for individuals who act illogically (while unfit individuals are driven to suicide); 5. preemptive war in the name of rational principles (“It would not be logical to prevent superior beings from invading the other galaxies”).

From a technical and visual point of view, this hellish world is perfectly conveyed by Raoul Coutard’s icy black-and-white cinematography, depersonalized sets (Kafkaesque labyrinthine passageways, featureless modern suburbs, aseptic indoor living areas devoid of any warmth), and Paul Misraki’s soundtrack. As is often the case with Godard, the female cast is one of exceptional beauty.

An estranging, restrained auteur film.