Tag: Anna karina

Le Petit Soldat

Le Petit Soldat is a 1963 movie directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

WHAT HAPPENS?

During the Algerian War, a member of a right-wing terrorist group falls in love with a member of a left-wing terrorist group.

ONE LINE REVIEW

Le Petit Soldat sees Godard challenge the existential ideals of love and alliance.

THE ACTORS

Michel Subor plays Bruno Forestier, the oft-reluctant Frenchman under the thumb of a right-wing terrorist group. Subor is given an interesting, if not fairly limited role. He’s a suspected double agent unwilling to carry out an assassination. Subor skillfully and briefly shows the nerves of a young man pressed into such a situation – yet the remainder of his character is nondescript, much in the manner of most spies. He is given ample time to expound his political and social views during the movie’s final half hour.

Likewise, this is probably Anna Karina’s most subdued Godard role. The vibrancy of her past characters is replaced with an air of mystery. We’re never sure where her motivations lie – she feels like more of an object than person. Early in the movie, she is photographed by Forestier while asked a series of questions. The scene could represent her own interrogation – either politically or as Forestier’s love interest. Yet even in this sense, her Veronica exists almost as an allusion; Forestier seeks to compare her eyes – a “Vasquez or Renoir grey.”

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A Woman is a Woman

A Woman is a Woman is a 1961 movie directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

WHAT HAPPENS?

A young woman wants to have a baby with her boyfriend, whose interests lie elsewhere. His friend is brought into the relationship, which only leads to complicated feelings.

ONE LINE REVIEW

A Woman is a Woman sees Godard take on the absurdity of relationships.

THE ACTORS

Anna Karina stars in her first Godard feature and it’s obvious the director is infatuated with her. Karina’s big, expressive eyes and range of emotion are continually highlighted throughout. Her character, Angela, possesses little depth beyond her main motivation, yet Godard accentuates her naivety and allows her style to emerge.

Jean-Claude Brialy and Jean-Paul Belmondo play Emile and Alfred, Angela’s potential suitors. The prolific Brialy is efficient as the cynical and often cold Emile – he continually shoots down Angela’s desire for a baby. Belmondo breezes through his performance as the cavalier Alfred.

THE DIRECTOR

A Woman is a Woman fits into a unique place in Godard’s filmography. There are few gangster references and no overt political leanings present. As such, it features a light tone. Being only his second feature, we also see the subversive experimentation that would mark his later work. Early on, Karina announces: “before acting out our little farce, let’s bow to the audience.”

Throughout the movie, Godard reminds us that we’re watching a movie. Karina makes a regular habit of winking to the camera. Meta moments abound, including Alfred mentioning that “Breathless is on TV tonight.” A police duo interrupt an argument to canvass the apartment. Emile and Angela decide not to talk to each other – instead they argue through book titles.

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Vivre Sa Vie

Vivre sa Vie is a 1962 movie directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

WHAT HAPPENS?

A young woman in Paris struggles financially and romantically and turns to prostitution. Her story is chronicled in twelve episodes.

ONE LINE REVIEW

Vivre Sa Vie chronicles a woman whose voice is lost in a world where commerce is more valuable than thought.

THE ACTORS

Much of the history of Vivre Sa Vie details how Godard’s camera was in love with Anna Karina. Watching even a few scenes confirms this idea. Karina dominates the movie, yet conveys the emptiness of a subject that is only pursued physically. We are to pity her Nana’s plight – she’s broke, homeless, alone and turns to prostitution both to survive and form an identity.

Yet, the tragedy occurs when she tries to connect with her employers and suitors on an emotional level. There is little to discuss and no one available for such contact. Her most meaningful conversation occurs with an older man and the topic only lands on the existential nature of words.

This could be Karina’s most subtle, yet expressive Godard performance. Her acting often retreats inward – she’s initially revolted by prostitution but then emerges as a caricature of her practice. This role is defined by Karina’s expressive eyes – she alternates sadness, desperation and emptiness in such a pure sense. She’s a brilliant actor and a fascinating study for Godard.

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Pierott le Fou

Pierott le Fou is a 1965 movie directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

Pierott le Fou tells the story of Ferdinand, a bored man eager to escape his Bourgeois life and Marianne, a gun smuggler on the run from terrorists. Together, they escape Paris and embark on a genre-bending adventure.

Pierret le Fou exists in an interesting space of the Godard universe. In some respects, it’s the natural follow-up to Band of Outsiders, yet also could be seen as the true culmination of Breathless. Godard blends gangster films, island adventures and spy thrillers into a subversive text that ultimately reveals itself as an ironic political statement.

Godard’s movies feature a quirky, contextual innocence – his characters seem to be trying on roles in an experimental landscape. Here, we see a familiar blueprint: a couple is on the run – they’re playing existentialist gangsters – staging car wrecks and breaking the fourth wall. Ferdinand is writing a book, Marianne throws it away.

However, a shift is occurring in the Godard universe. The subversive reassembly of culture that marked his earlier movies is still vivid, but a heaviness is looming. The second half of Pierrot le Fou issues a statement regarding an increasingly militant world. Even Godard is not immune to such sweeping societal change.

Yet, Pierrot le Fou is still a masterful dissection of culture and a really fun movie.

And it looks great.

Stylistically, this may be Godard’s most appealing movie – or at least, it’s intriguing to see him experiment with color.

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