Tout va bien (1972)

Directors:

Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Pierre Gorin

Writers:

Jean-Luc Godard (writer)
Jean-Pierre Gorin (writer)

Release Date:

16 February 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Godard examines the structure of movies, relationships and revolutions through the life of a couple in Paris.

Plot Keywords:

Repeated Scenes | Union | Labor | Sausage | Communist

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Yves Montand	...	Him, Jacques
Jane Fonda	...	Her, Suzanne
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Factory Manager
Elizabeth Chauvin	...	Genevieve
Castel Casti	...	Geneviève
Éric Chartier	...	Lucien
Louis Bugette		(as Bugette)
Yves Gabrielli	...	Léon (as Yves Gabrieli)
Pierre Oudrey	...	Frederic
Jean Pignol	...	Delegate
Anne Wiazemsky	...	Leftist woman
Marcel Gassouk
Didier Gaudron
Michel Marot
Hugette Mieville

Also Known As:

All's Well (USA)
Crepa padrone, tutto va bene (Italy)
Just Great (International: English title)

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11

Company:

Anouchka Films

Movie Connections:

References Mépris, Le (1963)

Soundtrack:

Il y'a du soleil sur la France

For once, I am somewhat at a loss for what to write.....

This film deliberately ignores conventional structure and this is because director Godard liked to buck convention AND this film is all about the need to overhaul the system (and I guess this can extend to conventional film making as well). I actually liked the way it started--with two people talking about how to deign a scenario for a film. However, after that the film got a bit slow. The film turned out to be about the general strike that crippled France in 1968 that changed the face of French society--ushering in an age of increased workers' rights (such as French law making it practically impossible to fire workers, guaranteeing six weeks paid vacation, etc.) and the supposed paradise for the people. Well, thirty-five years later, France is once again fighting this SAME battle again, as since instituting these progressive changes, unemployment has skyrocketed and industries have left France like rats leaving a sinking ship. France, as well as our class system, like this movie, have no easy answers.

So far, I have written a huge number of reviews on IMDb and they usually flow from my mind to the computer screen rather easily. Thank you, Jean-Luc Godard for making this a much tougher task than usual!! While I did not hate this film nearly as much as PIERRE LE FOU, ALPHAVILLE or PRENOM CARMEN (films of Godard that I have hated), I didn't particularly enjoy this movie nor did I really care about it--I just felt very little about the film one way or the other. As usual for Godard, the subject matter is the ills of conventional capitalism and his desire to overhaul "the system". However, unlike the three films I just listed, at least TOUT VA BIEN makes you think and it's not a film to easily dismiss or adore--it's more an enigma. Plus, I don't really think Godard thought he had all the answers to improving society, despite his far-left leanings and the leanings of his two stars. And I guess, for bucking convention, for allowing itself to be vague as well as offering something different, it might have been worth while. I certainly did not enjoy it, nor would the average viewer. Only those who adore terms like "class struggle", "prolotariot" and the like as well as die-hard Godard freaks will probably find this a great or memorable film.