Jean-Luc Godard
1964
95 minutes
This is a Godard film that seems to you somehow less than the sum of its parts. That's okay--it just means that your later enjoyment of this may be more through clips and references than remembering and treasuring the whole damned thing. It stars Anna Karina and two guys you don't remember terribly well, and the plot is some sort of harebrained low-key heist/burglary that goes poorly and ends in some deaths that you don't find especially moving. Tant pis.
There are two bits in this film that are iconic and necessary to know because they are referenced elsewhere. In one scene, the characters do a version of the Madison, which is referenced in several other films including Pulp Fiction. The other scene is the one in which they sprint through the Louvre museum in an apparently record-breaking time for reasons barely related to the plot.
You aren't going to love this film, admittedly. But you have to admit that having two iconic moments in an otherwise fairly mediocre film is an achievement. And you don't hate it. You're happy to watch Godard film Anna Karina doing all kinds of boring or meaningless nonsense without too much complaint, so just watch and enjoy. There are worse ways to spend your time.
Time to choose something different: