Bande à Part (1964)
Greetings. This hibernating, humble editor of your Sunday Paper re-emerges from wintry sleet for Spring equinox. In this bardo between seasons, we bring you Jean-Luc Godard's 1964 gem Bande à Part (Band of Outsiders). In Godard's words, this New Wave film is "Alice in Wonderland meets Franz Kafka".
Of contradicting states, Bande à Part is at once melancholic yet unpredictably flippant; of deep personal darkness yet shared glee. Here lies the beauty of this film. Is life not the dance of two polar opposites, and yet their mutual existence at once? Of decisions and indecisions, the to-be's and not-to-be's? Winter, and Spring, play on. (Meanwhile, we also have a bit of Tango in store for you; scroll down for the Spotify playlist).
MUSIC THAT COMPELS ONE, OR TWO, TO TANGO (Open in Spotify)
Santa Maria (del Buen Ayre)—Gotan Project
La Cumparsita—Tango Ballroom Alfred House
Candela—Buena Vista Social Club
El Cuarto De Tula—Buena Vista Social Club
Libertango—Astor Piazolla, Yo-Yo Ma
Adios Nonino—Astor Piazolla
Fuga y Misterio—Astor Piazolla
The Girl from Ipanema—Joan Gilberto, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto
Santimiento Gaucho—Canaro