''Tout va bien'' is a 1972 French-Italian political drama film directed by

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

and collaborator

Jean-Pierre Gorin Jean-Pierre Gorin (born 17 April 1943) is a French filmmaker and professor, best known for his work with ''French New Wave, Nouvelle Vague'' luminary Jean-Luc Godard, during what is often referred to as Godard's "radical" period. Jean-Pierre Go ...

and starring

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

and Yves Montand. The film's title means "everything is going well". It was released in the United States under the title ''All's Well'' and internationally under the title ''Just Great''. The Godard/Gorin collaboration continued with the featurette '' Letter to Jane'' as a postscript to ''Tout va bien''.

Overview

The film centers on a strike at a sausage factory which is witnessed by an American reporter and her French husband, who is a director of TV commercials. The film has a strong political message which outlines the logic of the

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

in France in the wake of the May 1968 civil unrest. It also examines the social destruction caused by capitalism. The performers in ''Tout va bien'' employ the Brechtian technique of distancing themselves from the audience. By delivering an opaque performance, the actors draw the audience away from the film's

diegesis Diegesis (; from the Ancient Greek, Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fictional, fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which: # Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are reveale ...

and towards broader inferences about the film's meaning. The factory set consists of a cross-sectioned building and allows the camera to dolly back and forth from room to room, theoretically through the walls. Another self-reflexive technique, this particular set was used because it forces the audience to remember that they are witnessing a film, breaking the fourth wall in a literal sense. This type of staging was appropriated from

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

's film '' The Ladies Man''. Godard and Gorin use other self-reflexive techniques in ''Tout va bien'' such as direct camera address, long takes, and abandonment of the continuity editing system.

References

External links

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''Tout va bien Revisited''
an essay by J. Hoberman at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

French avant-garde and experimental films 1972 films Films about anarchism 1970s French-language films French political drama films Films directed by Jean-Luc Godard Films about the labor movement Films about labor relations 1970s political drama films Films set in factories 1970s avant-garde and experimental films 1972 drama films 1970s French films {{1970s-France-film-stub