Masculin Féminin (1966)

A romance between young Parisians, shown through a series of vignettes.

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Jean-Luc Godard, Guy de Maupassant (stories)

Stars:

Jean-Pierre Léaud, Chantal Goya, Marlène Jobert

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Paul - un jeune homme instable
Chantal Goya	...	Madeleine Zimmer - une petite chanteuse
Marlène Jobert	...	Elisabeth Choquet - la copine d'Elisabeth
Michel Debord	...	Robert Packard - un syndicaliste
Catherine-Isabelle Duport	...	Catherine-Isabelle
Evabritt Strandberg	...	Elle (la femme dans le film) (as Eva-Britt Strandberg)
Birger Malmsten	...	Lui (l'homme dans le film)

Storyline

Paul is young, just demobbed from national service in the French Army, and disillusioned with civilian life. As his girlfriend builds herself a career as a pop singer, Paul becomes more isolated from his friends and peers ('the children of Marx and Coca Cola', as the credits announce) and their social and emotional politics.

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Plot Keywords:

singer | friend | french | france | politics | 

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Taglines:

Jean-Luc Godard's Swinging Look at Youth and Love in Paris Today!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Rialto Pictures

Country:

France Sweden

Language:

French Swedish English

Release Date:

22 March 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

Masculin Féminin

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$26,855, 13 February 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$200,087, 4 September 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anouchka Films, Argos Films, Sandrews

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to the portrayal of youth and sex, the film was prohibited to persons under 18 in France - "the very audience it was meant for," griped Jean Luc Godard.

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Quotes

Madeleine Zimmer - une petite chanteuse: Do you think one can live alone? Always alone.
Paul: No, I don't think one can, it's impossible. Without tenderness you'd shoot yourself.

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Crazy Credits

Contrary to what Paul and his friend decide in the laundry mat sequence, Godard points out just before the credits that the word "féminin" does in fact contain another word: "fin" [end].

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Connections

Featured in [Censored] (2018)

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Soundtracks

Tu m'as trop menti
(uncredited)
Written by Jean-Jacques Debout
Performed by Chantal Goya
Editions de RCA

User Reviews

OR The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola

That alternate title for Masculin Feminin, The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola, is provided in the middle of the film. It is probably the most famous thing from it. It's actually a good title. Politics and pop culture mix in odd ways in the film, and the characters are uncertain about both of those aspects of their lives.

Truth be told, Masculin Feminin is a lesser work by Jean-Luc Godard. It was made during a difficult period in his life: his relationship with Anna Karina, his wife and favorite actress, star of many of his early films such as Le petit soldat, Une femme est une femme, and especially Vivre sa vie, was falling apart. Therefore, this particular film is very bitter and hopeless. Godard is also unsure of where he's going. The film stars Jean-Pierre Leaud, who is most famous for playing Antoine Doinel in such Truffaut films as The 400 Blows. His girlfriend is played by Chantal Goya, who was a pop star at the time (and she plays an up-and-coming pop singer in the film). The film loses track of its supporting players. They are omnipresent, but when they have scenes without Leaud or Goya, the film gets tedious. Godard doesn't know what he's doing with them. This is especially true of a long scene where Leaud's best friend tries to court Goya's best friend in a kitchen. He asks her many questions, but they are all very trite ones about her sex life. I swear, he asks the same three questions a dozen times each. It gets old fast, and the scene lasts forever. There are several good sequences, but nothing that really equals the best of Jean-Luc Godard. Perhaps its real value is in its editing. Godard's editing is always interesting, and Masculin Feminin shows us his skill with long takes. Also, there are a couple of great tracking shots. 7/10.