Pierrot le Fou

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Pierrot le Fou

Released Jan 8, 1969

1h 45m

Drama

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

Musical

Romance

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Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

86%

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.

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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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Sarfaraz A

Jean-Luc Godard wrote and directed this French New Wave road crime thriller. Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo co-star. The film is based on Lionel White's 1962 novel, "Obsession". Jean is a married guy with a young daughter who one day steals a car with his daughter's babysitter, Anna, and goes on a crime spree, while being pursued by the Mafia. I enjoyed cinematic photography, nostalgic sights of streets and buildings in Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, both at night and in daytime. The leads are irritant but with fathomable performances. I couldn't comprehend how Anna could knock down a healthy and haughty working man at a gas station by punching him in the chest and he never got up. This type of film's frivolity drove away my interest in it. Jean-Luc Godard is recognized as one of the best filmmakers whose work has never received an Oscar, which is most likely why Western film critics wish to repay him by giving his films excellent reviews.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/09/25

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Dušan A

Such beautiful imagery, evoking all kinds of emotions, although yet again as Dragan Nikolic would say "It's Godard, there is no plot"

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/13/24

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Camero W

Not for the faint of mind

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/06/24

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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

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

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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)

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