Band of Outsiders was the first Godard film I had watched and upon seeing the dance scene in the cafe, I was hooked on the film. I thought it was a very simple yet effective way to really describe the characters without being too expositional or verbose. The voice over which interjects through out the scene describes the thoughts of the characters but furthermore, their dance styles also express who they are. Arthur's "couldn't care less" attitude is expressed in his loose easy movements. Franz, who is in love with Odile, obviously makes an effort in his movements to perhaps try and impress her, although his thoughts are flighty. Odile on the other hand is dancing very consciously of trying to look "sexy" without really achieving it. We also hear her thoughts and it's obvious she is trying to seduce the men with her dance but as she is an innocent schoolgirl, it is unsuccessful. It was interesting to find different homages to this scene posted on youtube. They mostly look like student productions, but are much more succinct. I suppose it must have something to do with the average attention span these days being shorter which is reflected in these shorter pieces, but they attempt to capture the essence of the scene.
A French Language Homage - Dancing with Strangers
A Brazilian Production by Students - Bando A Parte
_Sunanda
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