Made in U.S.A (1966)

In the near future, leftist writer Paula 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 (as JLG)

Writers:

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

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

In the near future, leftist writer Paula 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:

french new wave | nouvelle vague | richard m. nixon character | murder | shot in the head | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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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Quotes

Marianne Faithfull: It is the evening of the day / I sit and watch the children play / Smiling faces I can see / But not for me / I sit and watch / As tears go by / My riches can't buy everything / I want to hear the children sing / All I hear is the sound / Of rain falling on the ground / I sit and watch / As tears go by / It is the evening of the day / I sit and watch the children play / Doing things I used to do / They think are new / I sit and watch / As tears go by

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Connections

Referenced in The Living End (1992)

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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 Big Sleep

Made in U.S.A. (1966)

** (out of 4)

Jean-Luc Godard's homage to American film noir has a mysterious woman (Anna Karina) trying to figure out who killed her former lover. The woman travels throughout France questioning various men trying to figure out who was behind the murder while the viewer tries to figure out why they're bothering watching the film. There's no question that Godard is a legend of the screen but there's also no question that many, many people hate him. Hate's too strong of a word but I do admit that I think the director likes to be frustrating and the more people he makes mad I'm sure the happier he is. The story itself really isn't all that interesting and I found it funny that Godard had said in interviews that he was influenced by the Humphrey Bogart classic THE BIG SLEEP. The two films have very little in common and I'd say there's also very little homage to the classic noirs of the 40s and 50s. For the most part the film succeeds in being weird but like most Godard movie it's still well-made no matter how silly, boring and stupid it gets. I think what I liked most about the film were the colors that Godard uses on our main character. When we first see her she's wearing a multi-color dress and throughout the movie her wardrobe is clearly the most interesting and entertaining thing on the screen. I liked the way Godard used this colors to really light up the scene just like filmmakers would use shadow and fog to bring to life their noirs. The story itself I found to be very uninteresting and there wasn't a single second where I cared what was going on and I certainly didn't care who killed the former lover. I'm sure some Godard fans would say that was what the director was going for and I'd personally believe this but at the same time I just don't fall into the group who believes you can be pointless and unconventional and make it entertaining. The performances are pretty good for what they are but none of them really jump out at you. The film has fun mentioning earlier films and we even get Bogart's name thrown up and one character is named Richard Widmark. MADE IN U.S.A. is a film that I'm sure has some fans but I found it rather hard to sit through even though it's well-made.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

27 September 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Made in U.S.A

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,147, 11 January 2009

Gross USA:

$95,209

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$95,209

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