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

The film contains references to various pop culture icons and political figures of the time, such as Charles de Gaulle, André Malraux, James Bond, and Bob Dylan.

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Quotes

Le partenaire de Brigitte Bardot: I think now that you've performed it, you should forget it completely. Act as if you're reading it for the first time. Forget you've rehearsed it. Read it out any old way.
Brigitte Bardot: Okay. I'll give it a try. "It was constructed. It was perverse. There was no one. Man had withdrawn, leaving traces of his deeds. There was nothing, nothing at all. We were lost, happy to desire nothing again."

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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

Referenced in Godard in America (1970)

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Soundtracks

Comment le revoir
(uncredited)
Written by Jean-Jacques Debout
Performed by Chantal Goya
Editions de RCA

User Reviews

very 1960's, very godard, VERY good!

"Masculin Feminin" is a definitive example of French New Wave filmmaking. It is experimental, comic, risky, wild, and fun, a spectacle that find cinematic magic within even the most subtle and mundane of situations. Although it is often listed as nothing more than a drama, this is also an extremely funny movie, perhaps one of Jean-Luc Godard's very funniest. From the opening moments, bizarre comic mischief is springing left and right. Through unexpected surrealism and occasional violence, Godard masterfully weaves dark humor into this often tragic love story.

The performances are also quite exceptional. Jean-Pierre Léaud further stabilizes his spot among the greatest French actors, and Chantal Goya is no less than absolutely charming and delightful. The characters are well developed-often likable, but sometimes despicable, like most human beings. There are times in which you, as an audience member, agree with their actions and beliefs, and there are times in which you must disagree. Through their ups and downs, "Masculin Feminin" explores a youthful couple's relationship in a unique and hysterical way. Fusing satire, sadness, fantasy, and comedy, "Masculin feminin" is very much a Jean-Luc Godard love story, meaning that it is heavily stylized, but also heavily realistic, just not in the conventional sense.