Made in U.S.A (1966)

Set in the near future, Paula, a leftist writer, goes from Paris to the French town of Atlantic-Cité when she learns of the death of a former colleague and lover, Richard P. Is she there to... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Jean-Luc Godard, Donald E. Westlake (novel)

Stars:

Anna Karina, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Léaud

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anna Karina	...	Paula Nelson (as AK)
László Szabó	...	Richard Widmark (as LS)
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Donald Siegel (as JPL)
Marianne Faithfull	...	Marianne Faithfull (as MF)
Yves Afonso	...	David Goodis (as YA)

Storyline

Set in the near future, Paula, a leftist writer, goes from Paris to the French town of Atlantic-Cité when she learns of the death of a former colleague and lover, Richard P. Is she there to investigate? On the surface, faces are beautiful, colors bright, clothes trendy. Beneath, little is clear: some talk to Paula as if she's Alice in Wonderland, corpses pile up, and ideological struggles insert themselves. A murder victim's nephew and a political party's hired hands hover around Paula. Is obscuring things her goal or is it life that's obscure?

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Plot Keywords:

murder | shot in the head | experimental film | suspicion | foreign language adaptation | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

27 September 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Made in USA

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,125 (USA) (9 January 2009)

Gross:

$81,105 (USA) (24 April 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anouchka Films, Rome Paris Films, S.E.P.I.C.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though based on "The Jugger" by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), the author received no compensation for this adaptation. Westlake, who passed away at the end of 2008, successfully kept the film from being shown in the US during his lifetime.

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Connections

Referenced in The Hunter: A Conversation with Author Donald E. Westlake (2007)

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Soundtracks

"As Tears Go By"
Written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Andrew Loog Oldham
Performed by Marianne Faithfull

User Reviews

Godard's transitional film

In response to user Planktonrules, if you dismiss 'Made in U.S.A.' as too unconventional then Godard films really aren't for you. I did not find 'Made in U.S.A.' to be very unconventional in terms of its narrative structure any more than any film he made before it.

With that said, 'Made in U.S.A.', is essentially Godard's cross pollination of his three main interests: his wife/muse, his political views and his love of films. This was made right before he really went off the deep end into Maoist political tracts and essentially still holds to a solid narrative while utilizing his typical Godardian techniques.

Those include deconstructed narratives which remind you you're watching a movie, on screen text, film references galore (particularly to Otto Preminger), copious amounts of closeups of his gorgeous wife Anna Karina in her last film with the director and political rhetoric.

And, if you're wondering, the genre he uses this time is film noir. Another thing people fail to note is that it's quite a pro-feminist move to cast Anna Karina as the lead reporter/detective, going quite the opposite than most in the genre.

In conclusion, even without a solid knowledge of Godard's personal life reveals an entertaining film, that's surprisingly quick moving for Godard and further examination into his personal life reveals a lot of what this film says.

So to all you naysayers who 'don't get it' and to those who love his films based on the fact that you're supposed to, hope that helps!