A Woman Is A Woman

A Woman Is A Woman
1961 - France
Directed By Jean-Luc Godard



SYNOPSIS

Angela (Anna Karina) is a stripper and the thing she wants most is a baby. Her boyfriend Emile (Jean-Claude Brialy) is not ready to have a child yet. Angela may have to seek out Emile's friend (Jean Paul Belmondo,) who is in love with her.



MY THOUGHTS

A Woman Is A Woman is a very whimsical breath of fresh air.

The film was made at the height of the French New Wave and the experimental freshness that keeps the romantic comedy from going stale. It also helps to have one of the main architects and talents of the New Wave behind the camera, Jean-Luc Godard.

Many French New Wave films have a very fluid style filled with energy. Moving cameras, a fast pace, and seemingly improvised dialogue... and this film is no different (in that aspect.) It's shot in very vivid color, which does differentiate it from it's comrades in the French movement. Godard's film also sheds the American film noir influence that fueled many of the New Wave's plots.

A Woman Is A Woman's cheeky script offers several in-jokes to film fans. Belmondo's character can't wait to get home to see Godard's breakthrough film Breathless on TV (the film that made Jean-Paul Belmondo a big star.) Actress Jeanne Moreau appears in a cameo and someone asks how the filming is going on her latest (Truffaut's Jules and Jim.)
In a running gag early in the film, Angela wishes she was in a musical. Several moments in the film, the music swells up like a song is going to break out and every time (except once) the music stops abruptly. She also acknowledges the camera with the occasional look, nod or wink.

Anna Karina is the highlight of the film. She's bright and chipper and even innocent, which are not traits of a usual stripper. Angela has a cool detachment from her life and surroundings, which makes the character that more attractive in a story-telling way (she doesn't need any help being physically attractive!)



The film doesn't disappoint especially if you're looking for something unconventional.