Une femme est une femme (1961)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 September 1961 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Angela,a striptease artist, wants to have a baby and tries to persuade her boyfriend Emile to go along with the idea...

Plot Keywords:

Striptease | Immaturity | Telephone | Femme Fatale | Wink

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Émile Récamier (as Brialy)
Anna Karina	...	Angela (as Karina)
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Alfred Lubitsch (as Belmondo)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Henri Attal	...	Faux aveugle #2 (uncredited)
Karyn Balm	...	(uncredited)
Dorothée Blank	...	Prostitute 3 (uncredited)
Catherine Demongeot	...	Zazie (uncredited)
Marie Dubois	...	Angela's friend (uncredited)
Ernest Menzer	...	Bar Owner (uncredited)
Jeanne Moreau	...	Woman in Bar (uncredited)
Nicole Paquin	...	Suzanne (uncredited)
Gisèle Sandré	...	Prostitute 2 (uncredited)
Marion Sarraut	...	Prostitute 1 (uncredited)
Dominique Zardi	...	Faux aveugle #1 (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean-Luc Godard

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Luc Godard		screenplay

Produced by
Georges de Beauregard	....	producer
Carlo Ponti	....	producer

Original Music by
Michel Legrand

Cinematography by
Raoul Coutard

Film Editing by
Agnès Guillemot
Lila Herman

Production Design by
Bernard Evein

Costume Design by
Jacqueline Moreau		(uncredited)

Production Management
Philippe Dussart	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Francis Cognany	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Guy Villette	....	sound

Other crew
Suzanne Schiffman	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Euro International Film (EIA)
• Rome Paris Films

Distributors

• Unidex (1961) (France) (theatrical)
• Pathé Contemporary Films (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Rialto Pictures (2003) (USA) (re-release)

Also Known As:

A Woman Is a Woman (USA)
La donna è donna (Italy)

Runtime:

Argentina:85 min | USA:84 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) | UK:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Brazil:16 | West Germany:18 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Euro International Film (EIA)

Trivia:

Jean-Luc Godard's first film in color.

Quotes:

Alfred Lubitsch: Answer yes, and I owe you 100 francs. Answer no, and you owe me 100, okay?
Bar Owner: Okay.
Alfred Lubitsch: Here's the question: Can you loan me 100 francs?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Soundtrack:

Tu t'laisses aller

A Movie Is a Movie

Only a few played with film the way Godard did. "A Woman Is a Woman", his first film in color, is a "musical-comedy" about Angela (the beautiful, underrated Anna Karina, Godard's then wife/muse, in perhaps her most iconic role), an exotic dancer who wants to have a baby. As her boyfriend, Émile Récamier (the late Jean-Claude Brialy) doesn't like the idea, she goes after his friend Alfred Lubitsch (Jean-Paul Belmondo). However, Angela's desire is just a pretext for Godard to explore his visual, intellectual, musical and, of course, cinematic games (in one scene, Belmondo meets Jeanne Moreau at a café and asks "How's 'Jules & Jim" coming along?") with this adorably inventive, amusing and sexy ride. One of his most accessible films, "A Woman Is a Woman" is a good example of why Godard was such a revolutionary, and a great introduction to his filmography. Oh, and to hear Karina singing "Chanson d'Angela" and Charles Aznavour's "Tu t'laisses Aller" is a slice of movie heaven. 10/10.