Set in the future in a far-off planet, Alphaville was something of a departure for Jean-Luc Godard. But he always loved the seedy underworld where film noir was born (fair enough, the French coined the term), so he took the pulp fedora-wearing detective Lemmy Caution (already adopted by actor Eddie Constantine) and brought him to a new adventure in a remote world known as Alphaville, a fascist city in which emotions are outlawed. His mission is to locate the creator of a super-intelligent computer known as Alpha 60 and destroy it along with its creator.
There were no sets built for Alphaville and virtually no special-effects can be seen in the film, but this cannot fully account for how Earth-like the scenery looks. Were in not for Caution stating the time and place during his voice-over narration, we would have no immediate indication that we are in an alien world instead of any city depressed by crime and corruption. At most, it seems like an alternate universe. Later, gadgets and gizmos will serve as markers of the time, but take away such gimmicks and Alphaville plays like a traditional noir in many ways. Why Godard chose to set it in outer space is inexplicable, and feels arbitrary.
Perhaps, however, it explains the origin of Lemmy Caution, a stranger in this strange land who claims to be from New York. Currently, however, he claims residence in a place known as the Outlands. The dictatorial control that Alpha 60 has on the residents of Alphaville is as shocking to him as it is to us.
Although not altogether a great choice for a departure point, there are some interesting technicalities in Alphaville indicating that Godard was on to something. Amongst traditionally shadowy shots, Godard breaks one of the cardinal rules of the genre by filming with an abundance of light, giving Alphaville an appropriately barren effect. Terry Gilliam was clearly influenced by the look of the film and much of the infrastructure seen in Alphaville bears a striking resemblance to Shangri-La of Brazil, especially the flashing neon signs.
While undoubtedly the work of a filmmaker enamored with Philip Marlowe, Alphaville is equally hooked on sci-fi. There is a crime, but it is not the pollution of a water reserve. Rather, it is the corruption of technology and the film develops its theme referencing both history and literature. It is implied that this is a post-apocalyptic time period thanks to a mention of Los Alamos. Additionally, there are plenty of decidedly Cold War touches. There are pictures of astronauts, emphasis is placed on speaking Russian, and E=MC2 is flashed into the head of citizens, reminding them of the event that led to a place like Alphaville.
A direct reference to 1984 is the government’s ability to earn the trust of citizens by manipulating mathematics. Alphaville sees this as no different than the corruption of religion. Brain-washed people will believe anything, no matter how illogical, as long as someone they have come to trust blindly tells them to.
There are also shades of Brave New World when Caution learns that people are executed in Alphaville for behaving “illogically”, such as one man who is shot dead for weeping when his wife died. Words that express emotion (such as “conscience”) are removed from dictionaries, which are referred to as bibles. Why are attachment and love so feared in this world? Could it be that love toward another detracts from the reverence the citizens will have for Alpha 60?
By the end of the movie Lemmy Caution will understand the extent of Alpha 60 and its deadly control. It becomes probable to us that the Outlands is Earth or, at least, a parallel world and that Alphaville is a penal colony built in a remote planet by a fascist movement as a place to exile those convicted of individuality.
There are at least two sequences in Alphaville that showcase Godard at his best. Particularly well filmed is an assault on Caution in an elevator by two government minions (clearly, Godard shot the film in the most modern looking buildings of Paris). Best of all is Caution’s interview as a new arrival in Alphaville with the ominous disembodied voice of Alpha 60. It’s a spooky sequence, effectively demonstrating how devoid of humanity Alphaville is.
Alphaville isn’t exactly a success. Godard coasts from burying the message to beating us over the head with it. Nevertheless, his experiment is worthy of applause. Assorted mediums had fusing noir with science fiction for at least a decade, but Alphaville seems to have been the driving force in paving the way for A Clockwork Orange, 2001, and, of course, Chinatown.