- Masculine Feminine
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Masculin, féminin Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Produced by Anatole Dauman Written by Guy de Maupassant
Jean-Luc GodardStarring Jean-Pierre Léaud
Chantal Goya
Marlène Jobert
Michel DebordMusic by Jean-Jacques Debout Cinematography Willy Kurant Distributed by Columbia Films S.A. Release date(s) March 22, 1966 Running time 103 minutes Country France Language French Masculin, féminin is a 1966 black-and-white French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
The film stars French New Wave icon Jean-Pierre Léaud as Paul, a romantic young idealist and literary lion-wannabe who chases budding pop star, Madeleine (Chantal Goya, a real life Yé-yé girl). Despite markedly different musical tastes and political leanings, the two soon become romantically involved and begin a ménage à quatre with Madeleine's two roommates, Catherine (Catherine-Isabelle Duport) and Elisabeth (Marlène Jobert).
Ostensibly basing his film on two stories by Guy de Maupassant, Godard creates a strikingly honest portrait of youth and sex (in France, the movie was prohibited to persons under 18 — "the very audience it was meant for," griped Godard[1] — while the Berlin Film Festival named it the year's best film for young people). The camera probes the young actors in a series of vérité-style interviews about love, love-making, and politics.
Masculin, féminin is a notable film within Godard's 60s period of filmmaking, and is considered by critics as representative of 1960s France and Paris. The film contains references to various pop culture icons and political figures around that time, such as Charles de Gaulle and André Malraux to James Bond and Bob Dylan, and follows Godard's non-linear filmmaking techniques and narratives. The main story is at times interrupted by various sequences and sub-plots, including a scene paraphrased from LeRoi Jones’ Dutchman.
Arguably the most famous quotation from the film is "This film could be called The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola", which is actually an intertitle between chapters.
Contents
Cast
- 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
- Eva-Britt Strandberg - Elle (la femme dans le film)
- Birger Malmsten - Lui (l'homme dans le film)
Awards
Jean-Pierre Léaud won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 16th Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Godard on "Masculine Feminine"
- ^ "Berlinale 1966: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1966/03_preistr_ger_1966/03_Preistraeger_1966.html. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
External links
- Masculin, féminin at the Internet Movie Database
- Masculin, féminin at AllRovi
Categories:- French-language films
- 1966 films
- 1960s drama films
- Black-and-white films
- Films directed by Jean-Luc Godard
- French films
- Avant-garde and experimental films
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