Pierrot le Fou

Released Jan 8, 1969

1h 45m

Drama

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

Musical

Romance

List

88%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Uninterested in his wife (Dirk Sanders), Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) wearies of his stagnant life. But when the couple hires an enigmatic baby-sitter, Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina), Ferdinand falls head over heels in love with her and abandons his family. He soon discovers, however, that his mistress is not who she seems. Pursued by foreign thugs, Ferdinand and Marianne steal a car and embark on a crime spree through the French countryside all the way to the Mediterranean.

Critics Consensus

Colorful, subversive, and overall beguiling, Pierrot le Fou is arguably Jean-Luc Godard's quintessential work.

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Keith Uhlich

(All (Parentheses))

Represents a high watermark of the art film, and in no small measure due to its despair over the artist’s ambivalent, uncertain role in an era of aesthetic, technological, and political turmoil. —Guest Post by Michael Joshua Rowin

Sep 6, 2022

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Joe Morgenstern

Newsweek

"Pierrot" is less successfully artistically than several Godard films that followed it: Masculine Feminine, La Chinoise and Weekend. It's much more than historically interesting, though, this funny little fugue for soured sweethearts.

Jul 6, 2022

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Renata Adler

New York Times

The film is poetic, quiet, introverted, personal.

Jan 9, 2018

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Dave Giannini

InSession Film

Pierrot Le Fou is quite obviously a film that will reward subsequent viewings.

Feb 23, 2024

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

In beautiful color and modernizing of a calmer France, it would be among the last works in Godard’s first phase where he then shifted to politically charged movies.

Mar 1, 2023

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

The most spectacularly beautiful of Godard’s films, and not just for the closeups of Karina.

Oct 10, 2022

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Yellowfur D

The only shortcoming of this movie is that the female characters are still passive and ignorant. The story, colors, editing, etc. can't be faulted.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/21/23

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Dani G

Typical Godard surrealism and lack of sense. That's his line of work and I respect it

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/28/23

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Mr F

Masterpiece. Using montage skills and great acting, Godard makes a film that will last forever.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

It is the movie I most quickly wished to turn it off. I have spent little more than 10 minutes.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

I'm sure there are many people who enjoy Godard's films. This one has its quirky moments but it's not enough to make up for the rest of this tiresome film that seemed to drag on. "We've found eternity" is a fair description for how long it feels like watching this rambling mess.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

William L

A frantic film that conveys a wonderfully off-kilter, borderline manic take on its subject matter. A man suddenly drops all pretense of his civilized life and instead lives entirely in the moment, dispensing with morality, convention, and eventually with his sanity in response to his distaste for conventional existence. Godard dispenses with conventional narrative progression and editing techniques in favor of a far more pop-art flavored, strange, improvisational style, but still crafting a uniquely poignant empathy for his deranged protagonist even as he becomes progressively stranger. (4.5/5)

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/06/20

Full Review

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Jean-Luc Godard

Director

Jean-Paul Belmondo

Ferdinand Griffon, dit "Pierrot"

Anna Karina

Marianne Renoir

Graziella Galvani

Maria

Dirk Sanders

Fred

Jimmy Karoubi

Le nain chef des gangsters

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Synopsis

Uninterested in his wife (Dirk Sanders), Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) wearies of his stagnant life. But when the couple hires an enigmatic baby-sitter, Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina), Ferdinand falls head over heels in love with her and abandons his family. He soon discovers, however, that his mistress is not who she seems. Pursued by foreign thugs, Ferdinand and Marianne steal a car and embark on a crime spree through the French countryside all the way to the Mediterranean.

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Producer: Georges de Beauregard
Screenwriter: Jean-Luc Godard, Remo Forlani, Lionel White
Distributor: Pathé Contemporary Films
Production Co: Les Productions Georges de Beauregard, Rome Paris Films, Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Mystery & Thriller, Musical, Romance
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 8, 1969, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Dec 18, 2015
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.7K
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)