Celebrated French director Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film "Pierrot Le Fou" ("Pete the Madman") finds a second life this weekend at the Melwood Screening Room.
Godard, one of the primary faces of the French New Wave of filmmaking, weaves a complex tale of love gone wrong in this story of life on the run.
What's fascinating about Godard's work here is its break from traditional Hollywood storytelling. "Pierrot Le Fou" won't explain the actions of its characters; that's up to the viewer to discern. In short, it's a different and sometimes more intelligible brand of filmmaking that expects a bit more from its viewers.
The film covers the illicit movements of Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Marianne (Anna Karina), a couple on the run from gangsters. Ferdinand leaves his wife to join Marianne -- his baby sitter and a former girlfriend -- after being fired from his TV job. On the road, the couple settles for short stints until being re-discovered by the gangsters. An assortment of twists and turns shake out for the traveling partners all the way up to an explosive ending.
The French film, subtitled in English, is a bit difficult to comprehend early on, but after the pace of Godard's work is digested, it's entirely possible to enjoy this modernistic piece of filmmaking. Belmondo and Karina are equally stimulating in their roles, and the various settings keep the film fresh even if it was made more than 40 years ago.
• At Melwood Screening Room in Oakland
Additional Information:
'Pierrot Le Fou'
Unrated but R in nature 
