Alphaville: A Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution (1965)

It wasn't long ago that I rewatched Blade Runner at a theater, only this time aware that it was intended partly as a film noir. Now I see that noir and sci-fi can combine pretty easily. (No wonder Fritz Lang directed Metropolis.) But few movies blur the line as much as the rather distinctive Alphaville.

Part of the blurring comes from the general lack of visual cues to sci-fi. It's not shoestring minimalist like Stalker. Once in a while, we see what's supposed to be a supercomputer. But we have to take characters' word for it that, for example, humans have colonized space. I don't fault Jean-Luc Godard for this approach; it befits a brooding art piece where people have to question their concept of reality.

Alphaville sounds like a larger area than the "-ville" implies; it might take up a continent. It is run by Alpha-60, a faceless yet sapient computer that probably means well but creates a totalitarian dystopia. Everything deemed "irrational," including such human behaviors as crying at a spouse's death, garners a stylized execution at the hands of more assimilated humans. Many simple, formerly common words like "why" (well, "pourquoi," anyway) have been banned, and citizens have trouble even remembering what they mean. So thoroughly integrated is the city network that when Alpha-60 glitches, the B&W film goes briefly negative and Alpha-60's subjects act like they're losing control of their own bodies.

Lemmy Caution is a secret agent, tho frequently under suspicion due to being an outsider. He's as much of an antihero as any noir protagonist, rude and unashamed to shoot an enemy who just cooperated under threat of shooting. (I guess when we're up against the likes of Alpha-60, we'll take any champion we can get.) For all his coldness, he finds himself drawn to one legal escort, perhaps because she took to him first, even when they both know they're not on the same side. You might guess that one of the forbidden words applies, and it will come to her in time.

Unlike in many film noirs (films noir?), the protagonist is not the only narrator. We hear several times from Alpha-60, speaking in the most philosophical terms of all. Its voice is slow, intermittent, oddly breathy, and as ugly as if belched. If I weren't at a theater, I'd look into a dubbing option.

Despite the fairly simple setup, I sometimes felt a bit lost, especially where Alpha-60 was concerned. Of course, you don't go into Alphaville expecting a popcorn flick. It should be a challenge. My dad and I didn't leave especially thrilled, but we were both glad to have seen it.