Since love was banned in Alphaville, I loved how they put that twist on the usual cliche and had Lemmy destroy Alpha 60, the computer that is ruling the city and somehow banned love, and he is driving off with Anna Karina and she slowly says "I...love....you." Am I the only on that got teary-eyed at the end? She never got to say that until they were escaping!
shareI acctualy clapped my hands in the end.
shareI thought that was wonderful, too. I especially liked that the tough guy hero had a real poetic and romantic side to him. The scenes when he was touching her hair and they almost seemed to be dancing, were really unexpected. His getting her to say " I love you" at the end was really quite tender and moving. I've never seen anything quite like this.
shareYes, it was wonderful and to me it was the whole point of the film. As was the bit just before that when Eddie says, "You have to be able to find your own way otherwise you're as lost as all the dead souls of Alphaville". That's the whole point of the film, in my opinion...
shareI'm guessing none of you speak French. That line is more clever than you think. In a way. The whole film is obviously intended to be a parody.
sharePlease elaborate! Why is it so clever?
Paul.
A reply in four minutes! I did not expect that. I just read over my comment, and realised that I may have come across a little dick headed (apologies). The line is "clever" because she doesn't say the usual "I love you" (je t'aime). She uses the formal (unfamiliar) "vous", in place of the (familiar) "tu" (or in this case "t'").
shareHaha! It's ok!
But what I really want to know is why did she say vous instead of tu?
It's all part of the exaggerated coldness or "inhumanity" of Alphaville. No emotional relationships are allowed (all the women are prostitutes, the words "love" and "weep" are banned) and "tu" would be used when you know someone, it suggests intimacy where "vous" suggests alienation. (I have myself exaggerated in the tu/vous explanation, perhaps to the point of over-analysis, but I hope that it makes things clearer).
shareYes, I suppose you're right. Thanks for the explanation.
Paul.
Thank you for explaining that. Although I do not speak French, I knew that she didn't say I love you the way I had always heard it. And to be honest I HATED that they ended it that sappy. So I am glad to hear that it was not a real I love you, it was more of an impersonal I love you, just saying it as if it had no literal meaning. Fits in much more with the theme of the movie.
share