The Girl on the Motorcycle

‘Serious film buffs’ often dismiss the admit­tedly ponderous and indulgent 1968 film from Jack Cardiff that was based on Mandiargues’s quasi surreal­istic novel as a slightly ridiculous joke.

But if you dig the aesthetic of the last couple of years of the sixties, you’re inter­ested in the idea of girls on motor­bikes being slightly unnerving and subversive, then you really should take the time to hunt it down on your local bit torrent.

The clip below gives a good flavour of the feel of the film. The bike riding scenes are ludicrous but still somehow kinda cool.  The Harley is almost comical and other­worldy in thc context of the French countryside. Marianne Faithful looks pretty and seductive and vaguely sinister in her skintight leather one-​​piece in combo with the futur­istic open face lid.

But, you can’t help but notice the simil­ar­ities with other films like Easy Rider and countless schlockish bikesploit­ation movies that equate motor­cycles with freedom, rebellion and  sexuality. It’s cool to witness an European take  on the theme, and the main character’s interior monologues are  amusing — and her encounters with randy gendarmes laugh-​​out loud hilarious.

Perfect viewing for the frustrated biker on a wet Easter weekend.