First Name: Carmen (1983)
"Prénom Carmen" (original title)

Carmen is a member of a terrorist gang who falls in love with a young police officer guarding a bank that she and her cohorts try to rob. She leads him on while dragging the two of them ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Anne-Marie Miéville (scenario), Anne-Marie Miéville (adaptation)

Stars:

Maruschka Detmers, Jacques Bonnaffé, Myriem Roussel

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maruschka Detmers	...	Carmen X
Jacques Bonnaffé	...	Joseph Bonnaffé
Myriem Roussel	...	Claire
Christophe Odent	...	Le chef
Pierre-Alain Chapuis
Bertrand Liebert	...	Le garde du corps
Alain Bastien-Thiry	...	Le valet du grand hôtel (as Alain Bastien)
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Fred (as Hyppolite Girardot)
Odile Roire
Valérie Dréville	...	La nourrice / Wet nurse
Christine Pignet
Jean-Michel Denis
Jacques Villeret	...	L'homme qui mange des yaourts dans les toilettes de la station-service / Man eating jam
Jacques Prat	...	Violon (as Quatuor Prat)
Laurent Dangalec	...	Violon (as Quatuor Prat)

Storyline

Carmen is a member of a terrorist gang who falls in love with a young police officer guarding a bank that she and her cohorts try to rob. She leads him on while dragging the two of them closer to their ultimate doom. Jean-Luc Godard intercuts the film with shots of a string quartet practicing Beethoven, and his main protagonist, Carmen, is played by Maruschka Detmers creating a stunning effect in many scenes of extended nudity.

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Plot Keywords:

love | string | police | terrorist | nudity | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Music | Romance

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 January 1984 (France)

Also Known As:

First Name: Carmen

Filming Locations:

Le Grand Hotel Inter Continental - 2 Rue Scribe, Paris 9, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sara Films, JLG Films, Films A2

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the shoot-out at the Café de la Paix (the luxurious restaurant of the Grand Hotel Intercontinental), an undisturbed man is reading a large book, holding it so that the cover is shown prominently, several times: 'Nouveau Guide des Paradis Fiscaux', published in 1982, and written by a specialist on Swiss banking. Godard's tongue-in-cheek political comment (in a French-Swiss co-production) may escape some viewers, though.

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Quotes

Oncle Jeannot: No matter where or when, the classics always work.

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Crazy Credits

In memoriam small movies

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Connections

Version of Carmen, Baby (1967)

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Soundtracks

"String Quartet n. 16 op. 135"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Quatuor Prat

User Reviews

Original movie making

I found it very interesting to see a new, different movie made out of an old story (Carmen). It is not easy to follow Godard and hence it may take several views of the films to understand all details including plot, dialogues and philosophical remarks and the result is it makes you reflect about it and makes you become an actively involved viewer. A Godard movie is like modern art introducing new standards in story telling, and so for someone used to and expecting a scheme F Hollywood entertainment movie it is probably a frustrating experience. I found the actors did a good job. I think the nakedness of the lead actress relates to the kind of relationship she (Carmen) has with her lover, which is based on a strong sexual, magnetic and obsessive attraction. I found the cinematographic/photographic work of the movie very beautiful and the music fits nicely in.