Band of Outsiders

Jean-Luc Godard made Band of Outsiders (1964), in his early years of cinema production. Godard has carefully orchestrated different mise-en-scene elements and juxtaposed narrative structure, in order to develop the characters, polish a very simple story and establish a mood in this Black and white picture. His little touches and memorable moments make the picture much more than a simple gangster film. The ambiguity of characters and the oddness of the many elements through out the film create an interesting result. In the following essay the film is analyzed through the perspective of both mise-en-scene and Narrative form.

The film takes place mainly in the outskirts of Paris, in winter. The harsh raw portrayal of Paris suburbs, distances this film from the typical summer romantic clean Paris images. The cloudy, dirty wintery roads and the harsh existence of materials such as the cable spools in the muddy industrial ‘other side of the river’, all together contribute in setting the appropriate atmosphere.

The realness of the images leaves an impression similar to that of documentary films. Almost all of the scenes are shot in real locations. It is event that through out the most of the film, natural lighting has been favored very much. Using the available sunlight, Godard has carefully composited his images, in a way that elements still serve their function. For instance in the English classroom scene, the black board is placed between the two windows, in a way that, when the teacher stands in front of it, facing the class, the light coming from the windows shines on her back which creates a soft light and glorifies her and stresses her posh gesture.
The make-ups are minimal, and they have been done in a seamless fashion, so they won’t drag much attention, remain consistent within the films realness qualities, and function in depicting characters. For example Odile’s make-up is reduced to black-eyeliners, which helps in creating an emphasis on her eyes; what she uses a lot of times to express herself. Odile’s short bangs and hairstyle along with her costume which is very identical to school uniforms, portrays her naïve and childish image. Comparing Arthur and Franz’s appearances, an impression of their differences can be felt. While both are clean cut, Franz seems more fashionable, formal and uptight, especially considering his styled hair cut, and athletic body. On the other hand Arthur’s comfortable, normal clothing and his short hair, suggests rather coolness in his portrayal.

One of the key mise-en-scene elements, seen constantly throughout the film, is “the car” that Franz and Arthur ride. Many of the character dialogues take place in the car. The fact that the car is a topless convertible creates an interesting composition setting, where the background of the characters is a constantly changing sight of Paris. On another level the car also contributes to the narrative: when Franz, Arthur and Odile are riding the car with its roof off in the rain, A kind of bizarre abnormality is presented.

Another important mise-en-scene element, which has been used very frequently, is mirror. The main implication of mirrors is mainly to widen the range of view within the frame, but in Band of Outsiders it is also used in helping character development, and narrative indications. Odile constantly checks herself in the mirror, whether it is the small mobile one that she carries, the one on the wall in the cafeteria, or the one in the cafeterias restroom, which is to suggest Odile lack of self confidence and at the same time a kind of teenage narcissism. We also get to see Mr. Stolz’s jacket in the tall mirror placed next to the closet containing the money; The same jacket that later on causes the setback, and as the result a change, in their rubbery plan.

The character movements and positionings has been well planned in most scenes, and their added value to the narrative is worthy of note. For instance the exchange of the drinks in the cafeteria; the never ending dance, that all three of them strangely do it very well in harmony; or the way they roam around the house with their face covered in black socks, in the scene where they enter the house for the first time. They almost seem to mesmerize the camera, which remains at one place and only tilts and pans to follow their fast enterings and exits.
It is very likely to say that an essence of Brecht’s epic theater is sensible in the actors’ performances. According to Britannica Encyclopedia Epic Theater or Brechtian distancing:
“[…] Blocks audiences’ emotional responses and to hinder their tendency to empathize with the characters and become caught up in the action. To this end, Brecht used “alienating,” or “distancing,” effects to cause the audience to think objectively about the play, to reflect on its argument, to understand it, and to draw conclusions.” 1

The acting style, narrative structure, character motives and dialogues all suggest that Godard was not interested on the psychological believability of his characters. The alienating effect is evident through out the film and its tension in some points is highlighted, and prevents us from emotional involvement and reminds us of the cinematic qualities of the film; acts such as Odile’s feeding the tiger; her stare in the camera; the ride in the roofless car with wet windshield and operating wipers, while there are no evidences of rain; Arthur’s very realistic long reaction to fake mockery Franz’s hand-gun shots; the one minuet of silence which totally cuts off the sound and mixes the digetic and the non-digetic worlds; or perhaps Arthur’s gun fight at the end with his uncle where he receives dozen of bullets, and only dies after he kills his uncle with only one shot.

In terms of the narrative structure, Band of Outsiders follows a simple plot, which is based on Fool’s Gold novel by Dolores Hitchens. What makes the film interesting is Godard’s juxtaposition of odd events in between the storylines. He develops his characters with care without giving too much away, and maintaining their ambiguity.
All characters face a transformation as their roles develop and they get closer to their objectives. Odile, which is first, portrayed as a naïve, uncertain teenage schoolgirl, eventually turns into an assistant in the crime, and reveals the adventurous side of her. Yet at the end when the both robberies fail, she expresses frustration and regret.

Franz and Arthur have almost the same motives. Both of them are after Mr. Stolz’s money and both fancy Odile. While Franz is in love with Odile and therefore is tongue-tied around her, Arthur, whose intention towards her is rather that of lust, seduces her with his smoother flirtatious language. As the robberies fail Franz and Arthur’s real intentions toward her get revealed. While Arthur turns into a cynical tempered character that blames Odile harshly, Franz shows his kindness and calms her down.

One of the interesting features of Band of Outsiders is the third person omniscient narration, which is done by Godard himself. The disjointed Narration covers a wide range of approaches in different scenes. He sometimes uses an ironic and humorous language, while being poetic at other times. At times it expresses character’s inner feelings, or provides absolutely unnecessary statements, or rather leaves comments on the cinematic aesthetics of the film. Godard’s fine line of humor in the narration creates a sense of parody of the typical Hollywood third person narrations.

The film includes a series of playful set pieces, which as narrative techniques function along the Brechtian distanciation, to create the interesting character ambiguity, and also the odd unusual nature of events: the long citations of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in French, in the English language class; the symbolic race in the louver museum, and shown particularly, in the classical paintings section, which is a humorous demonstration of the absolute ignorance towards ethics and standards; the repetitious never ending dance; Frantz’s pause in the midst of the robbery to swipe a book;

Placing the film within Thompson’s four-part structure, in the first act Odile, Franz and Arthur’s relationship with each other are exposed. Also their main motive as protagonists, which is to rob Mr.Stolz’s illegal money is introduced. The first act ends as the three main characters leave the English class, with humorous Godard’s voice-over narration over the images, explaining why the actual act of leaving the class has been cut off. In the second act the characters are developed as they plan the robbery, and at the same time hang out in a cafeteria and call off the night with a coin toss, which decides a person between Franz and Arthur, that Odile would spent the rest of the evening with. This leads to the first major turning point at almost the halfway mark, which is the departure of Odile from Arthur’s place, and his struggle with his uncle over the informations regarding the money. The first attempt of the robbery, which fails, leads us to the climax, which ends the third act. After the verbal talk between Arthur and Odile, which upsets Odile, the turning point between the third and the fourth act is indicated by extreme long shot views of the Paris landscapes, with voice over narrations on the top. In the fourth act the film concludes with the second robbery attempt, which also does not go very well. By the end the film ties up all the loose strands and leaves no unanswered plot questions, or unclear issues.

Godard has used all the available resources, to create the appropriate mise-en scene, and craft the plot. He has shown that it is possible to create an interesting image using basic available raw martial, simply by integrating them within an interesting yet questionable composition, also inserting unexpected elements in the narrative structure, and Brechtian Distanciation, in order to produce something far more remarkable than a typical gangster film.

1 "epic theatre." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 9 Jan. 2008 .