One Plus One

Ostensibly a rock documentary starring the Rolling Stones, ONE PLUS ONE (1968) proves to be much more--and much less--in the hands of director Jean-Luc Godard, who attempts to subvert the conventions of bourgeois filmmaking in this odd production, ultimately coming up short of his usual standard.

The rock documentary portions of the film include a series of recording sessions with the Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman), during which they painstakingly lay down the tracks for the song, "Sympathy for the Devil." Interspersed with these music segments are scenes indirectly related to the Stones's song and to each other: in ...