The classics of Imitation weekly (2): Le départ (1967), by Jerzy Skolimowski

Le départ (The departure) (1967) (93 min)

Director: Jerzy Skolimowski

Cast: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Catherine Duport, Jacqueline Bir, Paul Roland, Leon Dony, Lucien Charbonnier

(See general spoiler policy for this section)

The first film Skolimowski made out of Poland is an offbeat story of a young Belgian hairdresser apprentice (Jean-Pierre Léaud) driven by a compulsive obsession to become a racing driver. Together with his girlfriend (Catherine Duport) he embarks on a frenetic (more often than not illegal) trip all around Brussels to secure the means for his dream.

Skolimowski showcases an unusual command of cinematic technique, especially in the frequent car scenes. The result is a refreshingly ideology-free, exuberant ode to youthful freedom and independence. 

Skolimowski casted Léaud and Duport, who had previously played in Godard's Masculin féminin, as the central couple mainly "because they were available". Léaud gives one his characteristically irreverent performances.

I discovered this little gem only a couple of months ago in the retrospective that Brussels' Cinematek dedicated to the work of the Polish filmaker. Skolimowski himself was present in the opening screening of the retrospective and explained how, when once asked about the influence of the French Nouvelle Vague on his work, he answered: 'There was no influence whatsoever, I was the Nouvelle Vague'. Well, he couldn't be more right. Le départ could well be that Jean-Luc Godard film nobody knows about, only better.

Memorable score by Krzysztof Komeda.

Favourite scene: Léaud and Duport hide in an automobile showroom and end up in the most genuinely romantic merry-go-round I've ever seen in film. Eerily beautiful vocals by Christiane Legrand to Komeda's score.