'I don't know if it's a comedy or a tragedy. But it's a masterpiece!'
When the character makes this statement, we sit back and wonder...how narcissistic was Godard when he made this gem of a film.
'A Woman in a Woman' was Godard's first colour film, the second film starring his then wife Anna Karina(though the first released) and outside of 'Band of Outsiders' it's probably his most light hearted, most carefree of all his films.
Godard called this film a 'neo-realist musical'. This moniker is laughable and was probably meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Nothing in 'A Woman is a Woman' has anything to do with either Neo-Realism or Musicals for that matter. There are no songs and the music in most cases is used for stylistic effects that often startle rather than enchant(as most music is used for). Outside of numerous clever references to musicals and one 'number' sang without music, there is little music in this film.
Godard rarely used plots in his films. Often it seems like he just took his cast and crew on location and began shooting whatever was there in his mind and later cut and edited the film at his whim. this film follows a character called Angela(Anna Karina) a stripper living near the Champs Elysses district who wants a baby with her husband Emile Recamier(Jean-Claude Brialy), a Communist intellectual who refuses to father her child or marry her. Upon her husband's refusal, she turns to other men to impregnate her and her former boyfriend Alfred Lubitsch(Jean-Paul Belmondo) is more than willing to step forward and 'do the deed'.
There's probably a million porn films with a plot as identical as this film. Yet like he did in 'Contempt', Godard avoids nudity and titillation as much as possible and when he does show it, it's de-eroticized and almost comedic in its presentation. The film is just plain funny with a million film references to absorb and several of them just laugh-out-loud and then there are sight gags that dazzle you. Like a couple who're always kissing underneath the stairs no matter what day.
Then there are moments of self-reference that just leave you laughing your head off. Like Alfred insisting on getting home soon because 'Breathless' is on TV. A film directed by none other than JLG, starring JPB who also plays Alfred. Then Jeanne Moreau conversing with Alfred and informing him how her upcoming film is coming along. The film was released the following year was also about a love triangle and was also a seminal New Wave film(anyone who doesn't know this should be shot for his stupidity and shot again for good measure). And then he references other seminal films of the New Wave like Jacques Demy's 'Lola' and Truffaut's 'Shoot the Piano Player'. Godard wasn't the first to use the fine art of self-reference. Chabrol hilariously advertised the book on Hitchcock he had written with Eric Rohmer in one of his earliest films.
Raoul Coutard began his work on colour with Godard in this film and became an indisputable artist among cinematographers for his later work with Godard, especially 'Contempt', the use of colour is low-key in this film though perfect in composition and design.
When the character makes this statement, we sit back and wonder...how narcissistic was Godard when he made this gem of a film.
'A Woman in a Woman' was Godard's first colour film, the second film starring his then wife Anna Karina(though the first released) and outside of 'Band of Outsiders' it's probably his most light hearted, most carefree of all his films.
Godard called this film a 'neo-realist musical'. This moniker is laughable and was probably meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Nothing in 'A Woman is a Woman' has anything to do with either Neo-Realism or Musicals for that matter. There are no songs and the music in most cases is used for stylistic effects that often startle rather than enchant(as most music is used for). Outside of numerous clever references to musicals and one 'number' sang without music, there is little music in this film.
Godard rarely used plots in his films. Often it seems like he just took his cast and crew on location and began shooting whatever was there in his mind and later cut and edited the film at his whim. this film follows a character called Angela(Anna Karina) a stripper living near the Champs Elysses district who wants a baby with her husband Emile Recamier(Jean-Claude Brialy), a Communist intellectual who refuses to father her child or marry her. Upon her husband's refusal, she turns to other men to impregnate her and her former boyfriend Alfred Lubitsch(Jean-Paul Belmondo) is more than willing to step forward and 'do the deed'.
There's probably a million porn films with a plot as identical as this film. Yet like he did in 'Contempt', Godard avoids nudity and titillation as much as possible and when he does show it, it's de-eroticized and almost comedic in its presentation. The film is just plain funny with a million film references to absorb and several of them just laugh-out-loud and then there are sight gags that dazzle you. Like a couple who're always kissing underneath the stairs no matter what day.
Then there are moments of self-reference that just leave you laughing your head off. Like Alfred insisting on getting home soon because 'Breathless' is on TV. A film directed by none other than JLG, starring JPB who also plays Alfred. Then Jeanne Moreau conversing with Alfred and informing him how her upcoming film is coming along. The film was released the following year was also about a love triangle and was also a seminal New Wave film(anyone who doesn't know this should be shot for his stupidity and shot again for good measure). And then he references other seminal films of the New Wave like Jacques Demy's 'Lola' and Truffaut's 'Shoot the Piano Player'. Godard wasn't the first to use the fine art of self-reference. Chabrol hilariously advertised the book on Hitchcock he had written with Eric Rohmer in one of his earliest films.
Raoul Coutard began his work on colour with Godard in this film and became an indisputable artist among cinematographers for his later work with Godard, especially 'Contempt', the use of colour is low-key in this film though perfect in composition and design.