La chinoise (1967)

Director:

Jean-Luc Godard

Writer:

Jean-Luc Godard (writer)

Release Date:

4 March 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A small group of French students are studying Mao, trying to find out their position in the world and...

Plot Keywords:

Terrorism | Experimental Film | Cult Director | Leninism | Politics

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Anne Wiazemsky	...	Veronique
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Guillaume
Juliet Berto	...	Yvonne
Michel Semeniako	...	Henri
Lex De Bruijn	...	Kirilov
Omar Diop	...	Omar
Francis Jeanson	...	Himself
Blandine Jeanson	...	Blandine
Eliane Giovagnoli	...	Son ami

Also Known As:

La chinoise, ou plutôt à la chinoise: Un film en train de se faire
La chinoise (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
A Chinesa (Brazil) [pt]
Die Chinesin (West Germany) [de]
I kineza (Greece) (TV title) [el]
Kiinatar (Finland) [fi]
Kinesiskan (Sweden) [sv]
La cinese (Italy) [it]
O Maoísta (Portugal) [pt]

Runtime:

96 min | Argentina:99 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:13 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2005) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company:

Anouchka Films

Trivia:

Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893 - 1930) was a Futurist poet in Russia. He became known as the Poet of the Revolution. He committed suicide in April 1930.

Movie Connections:

References Louis Lumière (1968) (TV)

Soundtrack:

International

Is this a movie? Or something much better?

There are many great things about 'La Chinoise', including its political and historical importance, which have been elaborately discussed by film enthusiasts all over the world, so I'd like to add only my very personal thoughts about this film. Personally, 'La Chinoise' stands very much apart from, if not above, all of the films I've seen. While other films of Godard make me feel they are great movies, 'La Chinoise' doesn't make me feel like that. It makes me feel as if I hadn't seen a film, as if I'd just had a very nice and exciting conversation with friends, as if I'd just had a very lively discussion with them, as if I'd just participated in a hot debate, as if I'd just quarreled with some people. No film ever made me feel like this.

Scenes and dialogues worthy of remembering in 'La Chinoise' are as innumerable as in other films of Godard. Forever imprinted on my memory are the scenes when Leaud can't understand what his girlfriend says without the help of music, the droll assassination scene, and most important of all, the discussion on the train. This train scene looks so simple, yet it is very subtle and powerful. I saw 'La Chinoise' the first time four years ago, and I felt very detached from the movie. Seeing it again, I think it is one of my most favorite now.