Week End (1967)

Jean-Luc Godard's in-your-face protest film is maybe dated in its approach but not in meaning.  The film doesn't really have a plot; plot is not what this film is about.  It's an allegory about the flaws of the bourgeoisie, about greed and consumerism.  A couple take a road trip through the French countryside only to become involve in an array of thematic misadventures.  The politics of the '60s is apparent in every scene but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed anymore.  Oh if we only had someone making films like these today.  Where is our current Godard, using the art of film to create absurdism for our times.  Watching this film is to see a political poet enraged and engaged with the intellectual landscape of his society.  I must admit to being sad that we don't have more films like this one, that our current cinema is more focused on weekend grosses and marketability instead of ideas.  In many ways the very ideas this film touches upon seem to predict our film industry today.  I loved this film and dare everyone to watch it and find their own personal reaction to it.  Whether it was all the burning cars, the false revolution or the lack of sensitivity, this is a powerful, funny and complex film.