A WOMAN IS A WOMAN (1961)
Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard.
Produced by: Carlo Ponti & Georges de Beauregard.
Written by: Jean-Luc Godard.
Director of Photography: Raoul Coutard.
Edited by: Agnès Guillermot.
Music by: Michel Legrand.
Released by: Criterion Collection.
Language: French.
Country of Origin: France/Italy. 84 min. Not Rated.
With: Jean-Claude Brialy, Anna Karina & Jean-Paul Belmondo.
DVD Features: 1957 short by Godard, "Charlotte et Véronique ou Tous les garçons s'appellent Patrick (All Boys Are Called Patrick)". Qui êtes-vous Anna Karina?, excerpts from a 1966 French Television program. On-set photos. Still gallery. Trailer. Audio promo. New high-definition transfer with restored image & sound. New & improved English subtitles. Booklet - excerpts from a 1961 interview with Godard & Coutard, and a new essay by J. Hoberman.

Jean-Luc Godard subverts the conventions of the Hollywood musical and applies them to the love triangle of three Parisians. Song fragments, luminous color, musical flourishes, and dramatic camera movements illuminate the mundane: Angéla (Karina), a cabaret dancer, wants to marry her boyfriend, Émile (Brialy), and have a child, while Alfred (Belmondo) pursues his lingering attraction to former lover Angéla.

Like much of Godard's early work, A Woman is a Woman is a refreshing and exuberant experiment. The kinetic and off-kilter cinematography jolts us out of our familiarity with the movies, forcing us to recognize the strangeness of life under the camera. And the gleeful manipulation of the film's soundtrack exploits the discrepancy between sound and image: slapstick horns transform the act of going to bed into a comic pantomime, and a jukebox love song turns a scene of crisis into one of wistful meditation. Less successful experiments in the film test our patience, and Godard's subversion of what is sincere and insincere risks squandering our interest in the characters. But for the most part this film engages us through sheer energy and vitality - both that of Godard's bold direction, and his actors' ease with their roles. Seldom has a film seem so effortlessly vibrant.

DVD Extras: The most compelling extra is the short film “Charlotte et Véronique,” an early gem directed by Godard and written by Eric Rohmer. Jean-Claude Brialy plays a young cad who unwittingly makes dates with two roommates. All the hallmarks of Godard's major work are here in miniature - the restlessness, immediacy, irreverence, and the half-mocking romance with American pop culture. The package also includes "Qui êtes-vous Anna Karina," an oblique and mystifying French television documentary from 1966 about the actress, featuring Brialy and Serge Gainsbourg. It's an intriguing portrait, and provides an amusing glimpse into how unconventional even French television can be. Finally, we are treated to A Woman is a Woman's curious publicity material, including the original trailer (with a heavily intellectual voice-over by Godard) and a promotional audio recording that distills the film into a series of sound bites. Arthur Vaughan
July 19, 2004