Masculin féminin: 15 faits précis (1966)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writers:

Jean-Luc Godard (writer)
Guy de Maupassant (stories)

Release Date:

22 March 1966 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Paul is young, just demobbed from national service in the French Army, and dishillusioned with civilian life...

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Singer | Vietnam War | Pinball Machine | Imagery

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

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)

Also Known As:

Masculin, féminin (France) (short title)
Masculine, Feminine: In 15 Acts (International: English title) (complete title)
Masculine-Feminine
Maskulinum - femininum (Sweden)
Arseniko - thilyko (Greece) [el]
Il maschio e la femmina (Italy) [it]
Masculin - Feminin oder: Die Kinder von Coca Cola (West Germany) [de]
Masculino Feminino (Portugal) [pt]
Masculino, femenino (Spain) [es]
Masculino-Feminino (Brazil) [pt]
Masculino-femenino (Argentina) [es]
Maskuliini feminiini (Finland) [fi]
Meski, zenski (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

110 min | Argentina:103 min | Sweden:104 min | USA:103 min

Country:

France | Sweden

Language:

French | Swedish | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:L | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:18 (w) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Anouchka Films

Trivia:

First film of Yves Afonso.

Quotes:

Paul: Kill a man and you're a murderer. Kill thousands and you're a conqueror. Kill everyone and you're a god.
Elisabeth: I don't think God exists.
Paul: We shall see.

Movie Connections:

References Pierrot le fou (1965)

Soundtrack:

Tu m'as trop menti

Masculinity beats Feminism! Yeah!

In 1960s' France, when there is rebellion against every reigning doctrine inside the mind of youth culture; Godard particularizes the downgrading of youth in different cases. Honored with Silver Berlin Bear for his influential leading part, Jean-Pierre Leaud symbolizes French New Wave with playing a captious character by means of critical attitudes. So wisely, Godard doesn't force the story to describe this leading character. Instead he let his leading actor become the viewer. Of every moment at all the scenes Godard puts us in his shoes. When we start laughing at an ironic situation, he became the one who is making fun of the person in the irony. When we start feeling bored of a conversation, he became the one disturbing the talkers. When we start getting confused of the happenings, he came to create his own scene.

Not only leading the script, the story and the other actors; Jean- Pierre Leaud also leads us to be part of his daily life, to realize his ambitions. Step by step he charms Madeleine with asking dead-end questions and helping her finding the impossible answers. Even though Madeleine ideally never liked him, she found herself pregnant and realized he has become the one that will share her fate in a little while. You would be impressed how fabulously, Paul convinces Madeleine and her roommate to share the same house, same room and to sleep in the same bed altogether. If this has been Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" you wouldn't be amazed that much.

Masculin Feminin is a conversation-based movie of philosophy and youth sociology and has the governing idea that even with the feminism women still are under the sway of masculinity. It's centering on masculinity. There is also a hidden analogy here that; as socialism being nothing but a rebellion to the eyes of democracy, so is feminism being nothing but a rebellion to the eyes of a man's self-knowledge. The character profiles are very well sculptured. It inspires confidence over the impossible-to-understand woman characteristics. Yet, for me the best issue is that the story-telling is very confusing, out-of-order; so that it's not really down-to-earth at all.