User Reviews

Masculin Féminin has been called one of Godard's most challenging films by critics and scholars alike. However, having seen both Film Socialisme and La Chinoise, I think this one isn't nearly his worst in terms of extractable ideas and themes. It's ambiguous, often difficult to watch and grasp, and very disjointed, yet it is also one of the best presentations of pop art, pop culture, and time-specific culture I have yet to see. It's Easy Rider and Two-Lane Blacktop for the 1960's France.

The aforementioned criticisms of Masculin Féminin are to be expected with a Godard film; he is a man not easily defined and one who defies all narrow stereotypes of filmmakers and free-thinkers. He is a man who had the unbelievable audacity to go against popular French cinematic customs during the tumultuous times of 1960's, making films that defied convention, critiqued western culture, and valued experimentation over traditionalist practices. Consistently, with the lone exceptions probably being Pierrot Le Fou and Weekend Godard's films are usually more fun to contemplate, analyze, write about, and discuss than they are to watch. They're meals and things you don't appreciate until they're over and done with even though one doesn't necessarily want to revisit it any time soon; watch two in an evening, especially his political works, and I fear for your mental wellbeing.

Masculin Féminin centers around Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a young France idealist who falls in love with a pop star named Madeleine (Chantal Goya), completely ignoring their polar opposite views of the world, music, politics, etc. Paul and Madeline, among Madeline's close circle of friends, begin having intimate and inspirational conversations about those topics, often reciting poetry or reading political text in order to communicate their point. In the meantime, Godard structures the film like he so often does, with quick-cuts and interjecting title cards bearing often disconnected and unclear text that we, the audience member, have to try to connect to the film in some way.

One of the Godard's most famous title cards appears in this picture, around the third act of the film, and reads, "This film could be called The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola." Here, Godard seems to be stating that the characters we center on in this film, and perhaps he himself, a "Marxist intellectual," are only impacted by two budding forces of the time; they are Marxism, the political ideology coined by the teachings of Karl Marx that addresses issues of class struggle and conflict between people of differing socioeconomic lifestyles by critiquing capitalism and emphasizing a more communistic approach to governing, and Coca-Cola, the globally-recognized soft drink brand that could easily be dubbed a corporate empire. Now, I think the generation today could be called "The Children of Income Inequality and Apple."

Another great quote that pops in the film, this time it's uttered aloud, is stated by Paul when he is discussing the roles of a philosopher and a filmmaker. He states very simply, "a philosopher and filmmaker share an outlook on life that embodies a generation." I like this quote almost as much as the above quote because this one compares two ostensibly different people and makes them come together in hopes that people see they achieve the same goal. This could also come full circle to reference Godard himself, as Godard is very much a Marxist philosopher and thinker as well as a radical, experimental filmmaker, and he damn-sure embodies the mindset and opinions of the sixties French students and young-adults.

With that, Masculin Féminin is a dialog-heavy film where the dialog can be increasingly alienating and very often dry and unappealing. Background knowledge of the French New Wave movement, mild understanding of Marxism, as well as a high tolerance for complex political readings is almost essential here. In theory, the film shouldn't work - it's far too disjointed, punctuated by interjecting title cards that still do little other than muddle the narrative, and has little character development outside of rather basic descriptions. However, scarcely has a film been this more focused and successful at developing the motivations and thoughts of a specific generation.

Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud and Chantal Goya. Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard.

"Kill one man and you're a murderer. Kill thousands and you're a conqueror. Kill everyone and you're a god." This is one of the many intriguing lines spoken in Jean-Luc Godard's 1966 film "Masculine, Feminine", a French film that examines what Godard calls "The children of Marx & Coca-Cola". Paul (Leaud) is a 21 year-old man who has just completed his mandatory national service in the French army, and, disillusioned with life, finds himself writing in a café. At one café in particular, he meets Madeleine (Goya), a beautiful young woman who is an aspiring pop singer and is able to get Paul a job at the magazine she occasionally works for. Soon after, she (seemingly almost reluctantly) succumbs to Paul's advances and they embark on a relationship. Along the way, they spend time with his friend Robert (Debord) and her two friends/roommates Elisabeth (Jobert) and Catherine (Duport). During their time together, Paul, who is becoming an increasingly vociferous political activist, struggles with Madeleine's apparent apathy and bursts of affection as well as her complete indifference to social and economic issues plaguing France and the world at large.

I had the pleasure of seeing this film tonight at a local theater that shows art and classic films, and the experience was wonderful. I have read about this film for years, but short of catching it in a film class or at a retrospective of Godard's work (which is not very likely in Milwaukee, WI) it was unavailable until now since it has not yet been released on DVD and isn't readily available on VHS. As cliché as it sounds, "Masculine/Feminine" ended up being so incredibly good that it was more than worth the wait. Therefore, I am pretty much breaking one of my regular traditions of letting a film kind of "settle" in my head before writing about it, since it was so thought-provoking and excellent it's like I wanted to prolong the experience.

With raw and grainy black and white cinematography by Willy Kurant, "Masculine, Feminine" at times feels like a documentary, which is perhaps Godard's intended perception. The camera lingers on the young actors, examining their faces as they wax philosophic on everything from Vietnam to birth control to Bob Dylan. While the film is extremely "talky" at certain points, there was not one moment where I was not captivated. Part of this was the unconventional style with which Godard blocked several of the scenes, particularly the scenes between two characters who are discussing various topics to an extent where they are practically interviewing one another. Normally, the camera switches back and forth between the actors, but Godard chooses instead to keep the camera trained on the person who is being asked the questions, perhaps in an effort to gain a more natural reaction. Another interesting component of the film is its various philosophical points about men and women, posted between scenes and accompanied with the sound of a gun shot. Counting down 15 philosophies about relationships and life in general, this (at least I'm assuming for the time) unconventional style of film-making was surely an inspiration for stylish filmmakers of the future, like Danny Boyle, Guy Ritchie and especially Quentin Tarantino.

Leaud, whose most famous role is probably the young Antoine Doinel in Truffaut's "The Four Hundred Blows" may be about 10 years older, but he looks exactly the same. His rumpled, academic look and sincerely intense and intellectual demeanor are intriguing, and his strong emotional self is prevalent and endears the audience to his character; as with "The Four Hundred Blows", I really cared about his character's fate. Goya is also good as the vapid Madeleine, a woman who takes great care in her appearance to make it appear that she doesn't take care. Other than really not having anything philosophical or intellectual to bring to the table, she also is content to steal the interests of those around her, to give her the appearance of depth. (For example, after making fun of Paul for becoming worked up over Bach, she has no problem telling a reporter she encounters toward the end of the film that he is one of her favorites.) The rest of the cast serve as great supports, particularly the semi-deep and fully charming Catherine (Duport).

I mentioned earlier that it was particularly a treat to see this film simply because it is so rare. Apparently, if all goes as planned, the incredibly wonderful Criterion Collection will be releasing this film on DVD September 2005. I personally plan to pick it up when it is released because I feel like I will gather either more information regarding the characters and/or the story or could possibly come up with a completely different perspective. When the film does become available, I would highly recommend "Masculine, Feminine" to art-cinema lovers or anyone who appreciates the French New Wave. And if you have never seen a film of this type, or by Godard himself and are looking for something to get your feet wet, this would be a good one to start with, because it is avant garde without sacrificing a coherent story and tangible characters. Mostly, I would recommend seeing this film with someone who appreciates good cinema, because I regret not having done so myself, I was so in need of discussion immediately after walking out of the theater. 8/10 --Shelly

Possible Spoliers: Though not Godard's best, Masculin, feminin is in many ways the prototypical Godard film, exhibiting as it does both his characteristic virtues and characteristic vices. The plot is simple and barley manages to hold the film together; a young man (Paul) conducts a shapeless relationship with a singer (Madeline), works on a cigarette trick, engages in politically oriented graffiti, wrestles with only moderate energy with his own political views, watches two strangers get killed and takes scant notice, etc. Friends and acquaintances of the pair drift in and out of the film, to no great effect.

The film, like most Godard films, should be dreadful, and to many it will appear to be just that. But it manages to develop a rhythm, largely thanks to interesting editing choices, and keeps the viewer interested, if not exactly riveted. One hangs on with a Godard film in an attempt to discern the pattern at work-there seems to be no organizing principle as such, nothing particular the filmmaker wishes to communicate, but one senses a method, or a semblance of one, to Godard's madness.

Nearly 40 years on, Masculin, feminin appears very much a product of its time, though not without some claim to universality. References to the Vietnam War and to De Gaulle along with detailed, and dreary, political texts read aloud by the actors, do date the film somewhat, and yet a good deal of ground is covered; love and sex, birth control, women's rights, democracy and liberty, France vs. America, Bob Dylan, the Final Solution, German war guilt, union agitation, random violence, vanity, pornography. Trouble is, neither the characters nor the film reaches any particular conclusions about any of these things; many of them are mentioned in passing-themes stillborn. But perhaps that's part of the point. Godard seems to be acting almost like a

documentarian-at this point in time these kinds of things were discussed, but desultorily, as a part of the process of living, but not as its whole. Will this interest you, the putative viewer? Who knows. In my opinion, this is hardly a great film. Scenes drag on and lead nowhere; dramatic events happen but have no bearing on the rest of the film and thus we are not inclined to care; the sound of gunfire and titles break the film into chapters for no justifiable reason; Godard appears as confused as his protagonists as to the value of art, politics, and action. Still, the film has a wholly original texture, and that cannot be faked.

I saw Masculin Feminin in a class last year and like with most of Jean-Luc Godard's films I was taken aback by how much the film doesn't stick to anything expected for the audience. This is Godard at the peak of his powers as a director for what has become a line associated forever with Godard- the Marx and Coca-Cola generation of people (or, those born in the 1940's). Like My Life to Live, the film is broken up into specific acts, but this time it isn't as discernible and even plays on when a new segment should start or end (sometimes it changes quite quickly). And the spontaneous feel that goes with many of the better Godard films is in full swing here, as Godard (according to the interviews on the DVD) sometimes just feeds the actors lines, or just questions to get true, if more documentary-like, answers from the actor(s). It's really one of the best films from the period that made Godard known all over the world; anyone seeing his later, more obscured semantic essay films need only to see a film like this or Band of Outsiders to see the filmmaker dealing with real characters and convincing dialog.

Jean-Pierre Leaud is actually just as good here as he is in the 400 Blows, only in a slightly different way. The youth of this actor is still ever present, but here it's changed to be a little more of a radical guy. The uncertainty of the character of Paul, his interest in the opposite sex, and having an intelligent but aimless walk of life, is very in tune with the other Truffaut creation. He becomes, along with his co-stars (like the young, beautiful Chantal Goya as Madeline and Marlene Jobert as Elisabeth), if not really a direct representation of all the French youth at the time, something of a reflection of youth is like in general is present. These characters don't know what they want for their lives, but they do know that things like sex, rock and roll, protesting the oppression of governments, and keeping an interest in parts of life are what make up their day-to-day existences. What might seem very casual styling in following these characters, particularly Paul, is a bit more calculated than expected. Everything that unfolds goes from being very funny to philosophical to fly-on-the-wall to even the poetic. That the cinematography and visual style is more often than not exciting in where the camera may move or not, or where the length of the shot will hold.

Individual moments make up some of the best that Godard's ever received, and from actors who being caught off-guard is not a negative. I loved the dialog between Paul and Madeline early in the film, as simple questions have some deeper contexts. Or when Paul is just walking along, a rock song starts, and a guy whips out a knife only to something very unexpected with a great, ironic payoff. Or the movie within the movie, a parody on Bergman's The Silence that isn't disrespectful and at the same time captures a cool attitude that these characters are looking at even if it's a bit above their own sexual attitude. But most striking both times I watched the film, even in its sort of un-reality and very 'movie' kind of way is when Madeline says a very poetic bit of wording in bed in the dark. Even in the moments when Godard's off-kilter filming isn't as appealing as in other points, as one who is apart of this age group the characters are in, I got enveloped in their loose, tragic-comic conversations and observations (not as preachy or didactic as in other works of the filmmaker). The ending, too, is perfectly shocking and puts a fine dramatic cap on what is really a bittersweet view of these people. And along with getting these characters right, this time and place, the places and people they encounter (little poetic notes of their own, as on the subway or in the coffee shops) add to its overall effect. One of the best films of 1966.

ACTION: In many respects, Masculin / Féminin (1966) is a precursor to Godard's subsequent film, the radical and highly satirical La Chinoise (1967), with the spirit of political unrest, reaction and revolution suggested through a series of random and disconnected acts of violence that are contrasted throughout by a series of dialogues and discussions on the nature of everything from music and movies, to the battle of the sexes. It came from a period in Godard's career when he was moving further away from the ironic referentialism and playful subversion of American genre conventions that had featured so heavily in his earlier and more iconic works - from establishing films such as À bout de soufflé (1960) and Une Femme est une femme (1961) - and more towards the deconstructive, essay-based cinema of reaction that would follow on from the creative year-zero of the difficult masterpiece, Week End (1967). As ever, it is a film about ideas and a satirical look into the notion of "youth" within the context of mid 1960's Paris - with the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the characters cast against a backdrop of Dylan and The Beatles and the war in Vietnam - presented in such as a way as to question the integrity of this generation, without ever drawing any obvious conclusions.

REVOLUTION: In the hands of any other filmmaker, Masculin / Féminin could have easily descended into your average, run of the mill, teenage love story; focusing on two characters from the opposite ends of the social spectrum, thrown together in a courtship that is continually threatened by a number of external concerns, from political differences, career ambitions, jealousies and social divergence, and all devised within the environment of swinging 60's Paris, again, post-Beatles/post-Dylan. Nevertheless, the ever iconoclastic Godard does deliver these elements, but in his typically subversive approach, in which every element becomes a comment on the ideas and interpretations behind it. ...THE CHILDREN OF MARX AND COCA COLA: Even the subtitle of the film - which doesn't appear until right towards the very end - is a perfect summation of Godard's approach here; with his comment on the contemporary youth of 60's France being both celebratory, but also critical; in the way that he renders these characters as buffoons that spout and pontificate - as characters in Godard's films often do - to illustrate that behind the ideas and the ambitions there's an emptiness that is simply cosmetic.

VÉRITÉ: As with Godard's 1967 trilogy - comprising of the aforementioned La Chinoise, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her and Week End - Masculin / Féminin invites us to spend time with these characters, to think about the things they say and do, and then to cast judgement on them. Once again, I think the problem that many people have with this film, and with many of Godard's work in particular, is that they assume the director is sympathising with his characters; presenting them as people that we should care about or identify with, when in actuality he seems to be showing them up as the fools that they clearly are. Again, recalling the presentation of Guillaume in La Chinoise, young actor Jean-Pierre Léaud portrays Paul as a likable enough young man, though one whose pretence of political action and Marxist belief is eventually revealed to be nothing more than pseudo-intellectual pontification and playful theatricality. Unlike his more motivated friend Robert, Paul is simply playing at political activism like he plays at being a lover; throwing out carefully rehearsed slogans and ruminating on segregation and Vietnam, while his true thoughts and feelings are wrapped up in idealised notions of marriage and romantic fulfilment, represented as sex.

POLITICAL FILM: You could perhaps argue that it isn't one of Godard's clearest of socio-political statements; with the film often going around in circles, suggesting questions that are never answered - or giving answers to questions that were never asked - as the director continually conspires to satirise and critique his subjects in a manner that goes against the usual preconceived conventions of narrative based cinema. DEFIANCE: If you're familiar with Godard then you'll expect such presentation, though even then, the end of the film, which wraps things up with a cruel joke, might seem contrary to the point of flippancy by many viewers who have taken the time to view the film and invest some thought into Godard's uncompromising ruminations. However, it's completely typical of the director to end his film in such a way; mocking his characters as shallow chancers ready to shrug off any situation, no matter how horrific, while never once leading the audience in their opinions. As the film ends, we're allowed to think about the actions that these characters have taken throughout the film, and make up our own mind as to whether or not these are negative attributes, or positive ones.

CINEMA: The presentation is familiar, with Godard shooting in low-quality black and white, with the early new wave reliance on disarming jump-cuts and Godard's continual interest in ironic inter-titles still used throughout. The camera is mostly stationary, or we have Godard using the tracking shots that his colour films were famous for; while a number of scenes are presented with documentary-like elements in the way that characters address the camera or are framed in order to undercut the action ironically. The machine-gun sound effects that punctuate the inter-titles would be used again in the more entertaining Made in USA (1966), while there's that similar feeling of rehearsed spontaneity familiar from all Godard's 60's films, giving us the impression of improvisation, when we now know how carefully planned the project actually was. GOD(AR'): If you're already an admirer of Godard's cinema then Masculin / Féminin is an essential, if not entirely successful work, from his most interesting cinematic period; even although it could be argued that it lacks the finesse or ingenuity of his more iconic films, it is still worthy of experiencing.

"Masculin Feminin" is a definitive example of French New Wave filmmaking. It is experimental, comic, risky, wild, and fun, a spectacle that find cinematic magic within even the most subtle and mundane of situations. Although it is often listed as nothing more than a drama, this is also an extremely funny movie, perhaps one of Jean-Luc Godard's very funniest. From the opening moments, bizarre comic mischief is springing left and right. Through unexpected surrealism and occasional violence, Godard masterfully weaves dark humor into this often tragic love story.

The performances are also quite exceptional. Jean-Pierre Léaud further stabilizes his spot among the greatest French actors, and Chantal Goya is no less than absolutely charming and delightful. The characters are well developed-often likable, but sometimes despicable, like most human beings. There are times in which you, as an audience member, agree with their actions and beliefs, and there are times in which you must disagree. Through their ups and downs, "Masculin Feminin" explores a youthful couple's relationship in a unique and hysterical way. Fusing satire, sadness, fantasy, and comedy, "Masculin feminin" is very much a Jean-Luc Godard love story, meaning that it is heavily stylized, but also heavily realistic, just not in the conventional sense.

It's strange this movie has not a single French comment.More than any Godard movie (I must confess I'm not a Godard fan,by a long shot),this one depicts a world now gone ,the world of the French sixties youth ,of the "Mademoiselle Age Tendre" magazine ,the world where a "pop" singer Chantal Goya used to sing "Si Tu Gagnes Au flipper" ("Should you win if you play pinball,then you've lost my heart ,'cause I know you've dated my best friend" exciting huh?).Every year the trendy girls used to elect their "Mademoiselle Age Tendre" and the winner had tons of presents and had the privilege of dining with Johnny Hallyday,Françoise Hardy and other "pop" stars of the era.Godard shows one of the lucky recipients and for once he displays some humor.Abortion and suicide did not exist in the sixties youth world they (magazines and radios) built for them,but in Godard's flick,they loom in the background.The director makes a tricky use of the words "féminin" and "fin".It's Marlene Jobert's first important part.

You had to be here ,I guess.For people who did not live in France in the sixties ,it is an honest time capsule

Godard's MASCULINE FEMININE is a very difficult film to discuss for those of us who saw it when we were young, and felt an immediate correspondence to the film. In 1966, MASCULINE FEMININE seemed to sum up our feelings: our interest in (radical) politics, our passion for forms of pop culture (especially pop music), our friendships. Godard was the filmmaker who seemed to be making films in the "now", just as soon as events happened. Protests over the Vietnam War raged everywhere, and Godard puts those in the film. On a personal level, the birth control pill was just starting to make its way on the market, and this was also shown.

But it wasn't just the immediacy that marked Godard's films as special, it was the sense of love that envelopes the film. The close-ups of Jean-Pierre Leaud, Chantal Goya, Marlene Jobert and all the others seem to catch these young people at their most vulnerable, their most charming, and their loveliest. Godard seemed genuinely concerned, fascinated, and enthralled by these young people. Of course, there are some difficulties (the ending is like a punch in the stomach; in the interview with Chantal Goya which is an extra on the Criterion Collection DVD, Goya reveals that the Godard insisted on the ending, because he wanted the contrast between Goya's childlike beauty and the horror of what she's saying), but it is a film which still maintains its hold on the affections of so many who loved the film in their youth. And i think the film is like a time capsule, and has much to show new audiences about a special time in the 20th Century.

That alternate title for Masculin Feminin, The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola, is provided in the middle of the film. It is probably the most famous thing from it. It's actually a good title. Politics and pop culture mix in odd ways in the film, and the characters are uncertain about both of those aspects of their lives.

Truth be told, Masculin Feminin is a lesser work by Jean-Luc Godard. It was made during a difficult period in his life: his relationship with Anna Karina, his wife and favorite actress, star of many of his early films such as Le petit soldat, Une femme est une femme, and especially Vivre sa vie, was falling apart. Therefore, this particular film is very bitter and hopeless. Godard is also unsure of where he's going. The film stars Jean-Pierre Leaud, who is most famous for playing Antoine Doinel in such Truffaut films as The 400 Blows. His girlfriend is played by Chantal Goya, who was a pop star at the time (and she plays an up-and-coming pop singer in the film). The film loses track of its supporting players. They are omnipresent, but when they have scenes without Leaud or Goya, the film gets tedious. Godard doesn't know what he's doing with them. This is especially true of a long scene where Leaud's best friend tries to court Goya's best friend in a kitchen. He asks her many questions, but they are all very trite ones about her sex life. I swear, he asks the same three questions a dozen times each. It gets old fast, and the scene lasts forever. There are several good sequences, but nothing that really equals the best of Jean-Luc Godard. Perhaps its real value is in its editing. Godard's editing is always interesting, and Masculin Feminin shows us his skill with long takes. Also, there are a couple of great tracking shots. 7/10.

There is a Godard that we cannot stand. He loves to talk about politics in his movies, but in much of them he talk with passion but without pity and let that the spectator forget about his voice and the message goes beyond redemption. Nothing of this happen in this masterpiece.

Here, Godard told us the story of a man (Leaud, in a very Antoine Doinel aura) and woman (Beautiful yé-yé singer Chantal Goya)in 15 scenes. And the experience is breathtaking. It incorporate the politics in the sex of each one, at the end, their souls and their bodies are fulfilled of this mentality. And we believe him, because we are men and women ... and we understand it.

And of course, our characters, love be young. Love to run, to sing, to have sex, love to love and to be loved. With the thing that made BANDE À PART a great experience, MASCULINE FEMENINE is in definitive one of Godard best work. The less pretentious, enjoyable and human. Criterion got an excellent copy of it.

Adding my thoughts to the mix of excellent reviews here because I have not seen any touch on this directly.

I understand the movie was mainly unscripted but it is still one of his masterpieces. It is not his best work but one I would imagine that he had a lot of fun making and directing. The camera work is of course artwork in itself.

The movie is largely all over the place but shows his feelings about consumerism, war, especially the Vietnam war, the military-industrial complex that was developing not just in the US but in other nations as well. Add to that birth control, education, capitalism, socialism, communism, and revolution.

The movie uses the lives of young couples and the feeling they have about love, life, and their careers and future as a platform but it shows importantly how the indifference of some youth about things relevant to their life can come back to haunt them.

More importantly near the end it shows how a pollster by making polls is not capturing the opinions from others but is actually influencing others and society by the questions presented. A la Facebook, Twitter, and our modern social platforms and how others are using those same platforms to influence society today.

A movie everyone over 16 should see.

In 1960s' France, when there is rebellion against every reigning doctrine inside the mind of youth culture; Godard particularizes the downgrading of youth in different cases. Honored with Silver Berlin Bear for his influential leading part, Jean-Pierre Leaud symbolizes French New Wave with playing a captious character by means of critical attitudes. So wisely, Godard doesn't force the story to describe this leading character. Instead he let his leading actor become the viewer. Of every moment at all the scenes Godard puts us in his shoes. When we start laughing at an ironic situation, he became the one who is making fun of the person in the irony. When we start feeling bored of a conversation, he became the one disturbing the talkers. When we start getting confused of the happenings, he came to create his own scene.

Not only leading the script, the story and the other actors; Jean- Pierre Leaud also leads us to be part of his daily life, to realize his ambitions. Step by step he charms Madeleine with asking dead-end questions and helping her finding the impossible answers. Even though Madeleine ideally never liked him, she found herself pregnant and realized he has become the one that will share her fate in a little while. You would be impressed how fabulously, Paul convinces Madeleine and her roommate to share the same house, same room and to sleep in the same bed altogether. If this has been Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" you wouldn't be amazed that much.

Masculin Feminin is a conversation-based movie of philosophy and youth sociology and has the governing idea that even with the feminism women still are under the sway of masculinity. It's centering on masculinity. There is also a hidden analogy here that; as socialism being nothing but a rebellion to the eyes of democracy, so is feminism being nothing but a rebellion to the eyes of a man's self-knowledge. The character profiles are very well sculptured. It inspires confidence over the impossible-to-understand woman characteristics. Yet, for me the best issue is that the story-telling is very confusing, out-of-order; so that it's not really down-to-earth at all.

While reading the other comments I learned that Godard is a "love him or hate him" kind of director, and I can see why this is true. If you are a film-school graduate or an aficionado of the bizarre, no doubt you will be in the former category. Almost everyone else is in the latter.

However, I will try to be objective and go down the middle.

Firstly, the cinematography is excellent. The black and white images are crisp and engrossing. The actors are interesting, not because of the quality of their acting, or what they are saying, but because the camera lingers on their features and makes use of the fact that people-watching is an activity of universal fascination. It certainly doesn't hurt that one of the people we get to watch is the adorable Chantal Goya.

I also felt some empathy for the Masculin character. He is such a pathetic twerp, trying to woo Feminin with his silly Marxist drivel, you can't help feeling a little sorry for him. She isn't any more interested in this stuff than we are. I imagine Katie Holmes must feel the same way about Tom Cruise when he drones on and on about Scientology.

On the downside are: the inane, pointless and pretentious dialogue, the juvenile sound effects and the disjointedness of the work as a whole. Imagine a feature-length black and white Monty Python film without any humour. Maybe I exaggerate. There is some humour...but it isn't funny.

In summary, if you turn off the subtitles and turn down the sound, you will enjoy most of the good parts of the film and avoid most of the bad. Of course, you could say the same about a Britney Spears video.

Godard's film Masculine Feminine filled with random scenes sounds off like the gun shots that appear at the beginning of each of the fifteen scenes. Although the film briefly explores the differences between women and men, Godard spends more time exploring the social problems of the 1960's and the difference between Capitalism and Communism, not to mention his endorsement against the Vietnam War.

Violence plays a role here, but a detached one. Two suicides, two homicides and an accidental death occur, but the characters act matter a fact about these occurrences. In fact, the characters react more strongly to events in a movie. It's almost as if the filmmaker is saying that people react emotionally to characters in movies, but remain detached at real life events.

On one hand, the pop vocalist character proclaims that she is a member of the Pepsi Generation, but her boyfriend, Paul who is a bit of a revolutionary makes the statement that if a person murders someone it's a crime, but if an army kills 1,000's of people, they're heroes. These two characters get along because they both live in his or her own world and neither tries to pursuade the other to see his or her views. So there is no outer conflict between the two characters.

What's most interesting about Masculine Feminine is the way the director shot his actors in single shots creating a documentary style as the characters interview each other about their views on sex, love and politics. Unfortunately only the men had interesting comments about politics while the women leaned towards Capitalism and materialism. I find this a bit sexist.

This film was part of the French New Wave and so it is respected for it's innovative departure from films that actually tell stories. However, by taking the camera and sound equipment to the streets, interesting ideas are presented here.

I respect Godard for making the films that he wanted to make and for leading the French New Wave Movement, but I wish that I knew the point to this film. I expected a more profound film.

"We are the children of Marx and Coca-Cola," a character remarks in "Masculin Féminin". This isn't the character's sentiment, per se; it is, in actuality, the sentiment of Jean-Luc Godard, and he doesn't want to mention it passively. It is as though he wants the quote to be stamped on his grave, to be lauded as a visionary for generations to come. So who woulda thought that, nearly fifty years later, the children of those children's children would be the children of Tumblr and Starbucks, more likely to wonder aloud who the hell Marx is and why one should drink Coca-Cola when a five-dollar "coffee" awaits a few blocks down the road.

Godard's attitudes have, of course, dated over the course of a half-century — but the way he expresses them, the way he captures 1960s youth, have not. To be a successful Godard film is certainly not an easy thing. A director who can hardly suppress his love for bizarre sound manipulations ("Masculin Féminin" itself is often soundtracked by a single, cartoonish gun shot that seemingly comes out of nowhere) and teleprompter-ready intellectual speak, it doesn't take much for a Godard film to go from zero to insufferably pretentious miles-per-hour in an instant.

But most of the time, Godard keeps the politically/intellectually minded atmosphere humorous and engaging, even if you can't quite put your finger on why watching Jean- Pierre Léaud dive into a radically liberal speech is entrancing. The kiddos of "Masculin Féminin", all in their late-teens/early 20s, spend most of their time smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee in stylish cafés around the city, delighting each other in their oh-so-adult conversations and escaping in movies they know they're smarter than. All attractive, all high in their hopes, all avant-garde, they regard sex as a breezy pastime, responsibilities as a chore they can save for later. They act worldly, name-dropping Sartre whenever the time comes, but heaven knows they would be much more content swimming in each other's cerebral coolness than actually do something with their lives. Leading lady Chantal Goya, who portrays the ambitious Madeline Zimmer, wants to become a yé-yé singer — but does she know that Sylvie Vartan and Françoise Hardy were one-in-a-million chanteuses hard to recreate?

"Masculin Féminin" is about everything while also being about nothing. It covers just about every topic found in the mind of a '60s dwelling youth, but it knows that these are just fleeting thoughts, especially when considering most of the stuff happening internationally is the responsibility of the leader of the free world (whoever that is, a character might accidentally grunt). A café is perched just a block down the street and, last time I checked, I wasn't the leader of the free world.

The film doesn't take itself seriously, and its actors are likable; New Wave staple Léaud is always so fascinating to watch (don't ask me why), and Goya, looking like a typical Anna Karina-type, enchants with her childlike smile and jet-black, Anna Wintour reminiscent bob. "Masculin Féminin" is Godard at his most focused, his most audience oriented — it is a pleasure from start to finish, even if we don't quite have a grip on what we just watched.

Smart, philosophical, cool, sexy, playful, subversive, and perfect to the time period – I just loved 'Masculin Feminin'. There is an indie, impromptu feeling to the film, which is told in chapters, and includes beautiful Parisian street scenes, thought-provoking quotes, and great performances from Jean-Pierre Léaud and Chantal Goya, as well as the supporting cast. It's said that director Jean-Luc Godard didn't have an actual script, and instead used hand-written notes he would come up with the night before. While that could have led to disorganized chaos, here it works, and brilliantly. Sometimes heard with street noise in the background, the dialogue seems natural even when it's provocative, or when characters are in sequences that are essentially interviews. It's not a linear, simple story and that may put some viewers off, but if you think about it, along the way Godard touches on love, sex, homosexuality, politics, the antiwar movement, violence, race relations, pop culture, and of course, the youth of 1960's France, saying a lot in this film. There are surreal elements, and hey, you even get a cameo from Brigitte Bardot. Very entertaining, and on a number of levels.

Quotes: "If you kill a man, you're a murderer. If you kill millions of men, you're a conqueror. If you kill them all, you're God."

"We went to the movies often. The screen would light up, and we'd feel a thrill. But Madeline and I were usually disappointed. But Madeline and I were usually disappointed. The images were dated and jumpy. Marilyn Monroe had aged badly. We felt sad. It wasn't the movie of our dreams. It wasn't the total film we carried inside ourselves. That film we would have liked to make, or more secretly, no doubt, the film we wanted to live."

Madeleine: Do you think one can live alone? Always alone. Paul: No, I don't think one can, it's impossible. Without tenderness you'd shoot yourself.

"We can suppose that, 20 years from now, every citizen will wear a small electrical device that can arouse the body to pleasure and sexual satisfaction."

A series of vignettes about youth culture in current day urban France are presented. These vignettes are tied together by a central thread, the story of twenty-one year old Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud), who witnesses or overhears many of these happenings.

I am not sure that I am a fan of Godard. Some of his films I like quite a bit, but it seems he has the problem of many prolific directors: the more he makes, the greatest chances of making a bad film. Not to say this is a bad one, but I would by no means say it is among his best. And he has a weird love of atonal music, which I do not think helps matters.

There is certainly a cultural relevance here. The film is said to tackle the generation that has Coca-Cola and Marx, which I suppose would be France in the 1960s (and to a lesser extent the United States). The greatest revolutionary decade of the 1900s, but also a time when the youth were living comfortably.

MASCULIN FEMININ 15 faits précis

Jean Luc Godard was never a man of too many words; but upon being asked about the philosophy behind his new film the French director simply shook his head and responded "It is a sociological study." That very fact distinguishes Masculin Femin from Godard's other masterpieces where the main characters like in Breathless are designed to represent unique people in uncommon situations. Masculin Femin, unlike, was meant to embody a much larger trend, the conflict is the sexual revolution, and the characters are suppose to be a representation of the French youth.

The film is told through the eyes of Paul (Jean Pierre Leaud), an inexperienced lover and restless activist, and tells the story of his group of friends and their constant search for self definition. Godard's prime concern when directing this film was the natural tone of the piece and to achieve it he used many means. Most of the actors in the film were unknown; many were real people playing themselves, Chantal Goya the female star of the film was a singer and had never acted before. It is also important to remember that roles for young actors were uncommon at the time. Godard kept many of his actors in the dark; Goya for instance was never given a script and would only be prepped before the scenes. Godard even used earpieces to feed the actors the lines he desired. A lot of it was improvisation.

The photography was the first collaboration between Godard and cinematographer Willy Kurant, Godard's longtime cinematographer Raoul Coutard wasn't available for the project. Kurant shot the film with a new Kodak stock eliminating all the greys for a high contrast black and white image. The cinematography is unorthodox to say the least. It is very simplistic, the camera is rarely on wheels, and the framing is often broken like a Degas painting where it was not rare to see parts of the subject cut off or out of frame. Godard divides his film in 15 precise facts where he explores the essential differences between men and women. It's a study on sexuality and love, is it true that men want sex and women want love? Throughout the narrative many questions are asked and range from topics like birth control to rules of attraction. The film is meant to be casual but at the same time emphatic, the dialogue is part of a wide spectrum that shifts from humorous to serious accordingly. The plot is filled with mini conflicts that come together to form a sociological picture, un-corresponded love, jealousy, insecurity, and the war on Vietnam, all become part of this larger frame.

Godard has always been described as love him or hate him, and Masculin Femin is that type of film. Many can't get past the rough editing and strange cinematography, but those who can, appreciate the film for what it is, the nuance and subtleties, a look, or a phrase, a place or a person. The beauty of this film really comes from delicacy of relationships and the veracity of the plot. Times were changing, interactions were changing, love and sex were changing, and Masculin Feminin offers a beautiful account of this transition. - Thomaz Marcondes

My fourth Godard's film (CONTEMPT 1963, 7/10; BREATHLESS 1960, 9/10; PIERROT LE FOU 1965, 7/10), so apparently I am not a newbie in Godard school, but to see the defiant Jean- Pierre Léaud (Francois Truffaut's alter ego in THE 400 BLOWS 1959, 9/10) has grown into a handsome young man, a boy-becomes-man leap from Antoine Doinel to Paul, with sharp stare, worldly-wise sophistication (a wonderful whistler and vocalist too), in a Godard's picture, which strikes as a sublime force of naturalistic liaison between La Nouvelle Vague auteurs.

Quoted by its most famous intertitle: the film could be called The Children of Marx and Coca Cola, it is an acute assessment of the young generation in Paris at 1960s, through Paul's relationship with his singer girlfriend Madeliene (Goya), her roommate Elisabeth (Jobert), and another lady friend Catherine-Isabelle (Duport), a girl whom Robert (Debord), Paul's friend, is courting. The narrative is chronic but haphazard, there are chockablock cultural and political references (Brigitte Bardot, Vietnam war, communism etc.) and cinéma-vérité interviews (including a lengthy one with Elsa Leroy, the first winner of France's Miss Seventeen), an apolitical malady seems to prevail among those young hipsters. Paul is an overt idealist, in this adult-absent filmic essay, he is the witness and the victim of the encroaching globalization, Léaud possesses a spontaneous flexibility to act without affected veneer, every scene is rehearsed beforehand, but his delivery sparkles with authenticity, fierceness and bluntness, which is a gift rather than talent. Goya and Duport manifest two sides of one mirror, the ideal girl image, one is a sweetheart-type while the other is more demure and non-threatening, with the sine qua non that both should be beautiful.

Encompassing 15 acts, MASCULIN FEMININ is quintessential Godard, a solid contemplation on its time's zeitgeist, in some way his subjective initiative is less radical and idiosyncratic than his iconic BREATHLESS, however, it is a stroke of genius from a cinematic torchbearer in his zenith, from a viewing experience in 2014, half a century later, it is still highly stylized under its unadorned aesthetic doctrine.

Sure this film is insufferably sexist and misogynistic with Jean Pierre Leaud's Paul character portrayed as poetic, romantic, philosophical, and cute (if a bit of a butthole) while Chantal Goya's Madeleine is presented as shallow, vain, materialistic and ambitious (and also a butthole). And the interview device gets pretty old pretty fast, as well, so that I, for one, found myself fast forwarding through the later ones.

But having stated the above criticisms and admitting that they are pretty major ones, damned if ol Jean Luc hasn't once again worked his perverse (perverted?) magic and a made a film of considerable charm and poignancy. It is not easy for a film director in his or her mid forties to so effortlessly inhabit the bodies and minds of twenty one year olds. Most such efforts are doomed to be overly sympathetic, like a creepy college teacher who is trying to be their students' pal, or to show even creepier, cranky signs of early "Get off my lawn" ism. Godard avoids both traps as he gives a rather clear eyed and, at times, quite funny picture of an uneasy relationship between a guy madly in love and a gal who is alternately attracted and annoyed. To pick just one aspect of this pairing that brilliantly expresses its awkwardness there is Madeleine's use of her two female friends to keep a distance and an actual physical barrier between her and Paul, as if being alone with him is more than she can handle. Don't know about you but this strikes me as a fairly acute observation on Godard's part and it took me back many years to a similar problem I had with an early ex girlfriend.

So yeah, I relate to this film. Both personally and emotionally. And while wishing it was not so tilted to the masculine end of the spectrum I always like to see it again. Give it a B plus.

I get why French New Wave would be so popular in its day. You abandon studio-bound moviemaking and garish Technicolor in favor of crisp B&W film shot on the streets and on the move.

Breathless is like a Vitamin B12 shot.

But let's be real here. If you're not someone who devours film and understands its historical arc, what does the majority of French New Wave offer modern audiences? A bunch of self-conscious, amateur-hour actors posing and bloviating, or hearing someone else bloviating while posing. Usually it's some ham-fisted leftyst drivel puts into their mouths by the writer/director. Often, we also get a narrator to help thread the scenes together so we don't throw up our hands in despair.

If we're lucky, we get a beautiful girl/woman to stare at for a while. All too often she stars opposite Inanimate Carbon Rod Jean-Pierre Leaud, whose charms completely escape me. He comes across as a mopey ingrate in every movie I've seen him in.

If there is an actual plot here, I didn't care.

Frankly, French New Wave doesn't hold a candle to the New American Cinema it inspired. Except the women tend to be a lot better looking, give or take Faye Dunaway and possibly Sally Kellerman (personal fave).