Masculin Féminin
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''Masculin féminin: 15 Specific Events'' (, ) is a 1966
French New Wave The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...
film, written and directed by
Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and 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 ...
. An international co-production between France and Sweden, the film stars Chantal Goya, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marlène Jobert, Catherine-Isabelle Duport and Michel Debord. Léaud plays Paul, a romantic young idealist who chases budding pop star Madeleine (played by Goya, a real-life
yé-yé ''Yé-yé'' () or ''yeyé'' () was a style of pop music that emerged in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term ''yé-yé'' was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music ban ...
singer). Despite markedly different musical tastes and political leanings, the two soon become romantically involved and begin a ''ménage à quatre'' with Madeleine's two roommates, Catherine (Duport) and Elisabeth (Jobert). The camera probes the young actors in a series of vérité-style interviews about love, lovemaking, and politics. At times the main story is interrupted by various sequences and subplots, including a scene paraphrased from LeRoi Jones' play '' Dutchman''. ''Masculin Féminin'' was intended as a representation of 1960s France and Paris. The film contains references to various pop culture icons and political figures of the time, such as
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
,
André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...
,
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
, and
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
. Arguably the most famous quotation from the film is "This film could be called The Children of
Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
and Coca-Cola", which is actually an intertitle between chapters.


Plot

Paul, a young idealist who recently fulfilled his military service, is looking for a job. In a café, he meets Madeleine Zimmer, a young singer who wishes to make a record. They witness a woman having an argument with her partner, which culminates in the woman drawing a gun and shooting him. Paul goes to meet with his friend Robert Packard, a journalist who has Paul sign a petition to free a group of artists and writers in Rio de Janeiro accused of voicing their opposition to state policy. Paul begins working for a magazine. In a bathroom, Paul confronts Madeleine, saying that she promised him that they would go out that night. She asks him if "going out" means "going to bed", and he falls silent. She tells him that her promise was a lie. As the French presidential election of December 1965 approaches, Paul turns 21 years old and becomes romantically involved with Madeleine. Madeleine introduces him to her roommate Elisabeth Choquet. Also present is Catherine-Isabelle, whom Robert likes. Paul helps Robert put up posters around Paris and paint the phrase " Peace in Vietnam" along the side of a U.S. Army car. On a train, Paul and Robert witness a white woman and two black men antagonizing each other, which results in the woman firing a gun. Madeleine is to have her first single released by
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
. On the day of its release, Paul brings her to the café and attempts to propose to her. Madeleine, anxious to see the release of her record, says they will discuss the matter later. Paul records a message for Madeleine in a coin-operated record booth. He is then approached by a man with a knife, who stabs himself. In a laundromat, Paul recounts to Robert his experience of feeling that he was being followed. Robert, reading a newspaper, tells Paul about
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, who Robert says is a "Vietnik" (a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of "Vietnam" and "
beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...
"). Paul starts living with Madeleine, Elisabeth and Catherine. He leaves his job at the magazine to become a
pollster An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a survey (human research), human research survey of public opinion from a particular sampling (statistics), sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
for IFOP. He interviews a young woman named Elsa, asking her about subjects such as politics, birth control and love. At the café, Paul tells Elisabeth that Madeleine is pregnant, but Elisabeth is skeptical. Madeleine arrives and sees the woman who shot her partner, now a prostitute. They also see a theatre director giving instructions to an actress. Paul, Madeleine, Elisabeth and Catherine go to a cinema to watch a film. During the screening, Madeleine tells Paul that she loves him. He leaves the cinema temporarily to spray-paint a slogan critical of
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
on a wall outside. Later, Robert has a conversation with Catherine, during which he asserts that she is in love with Paul. Godard, through Robert, constructs the idea of worker as a revolutionary and work as revolution. One day, a man borrows a box of matches from Paul, and uses them to self-immolate, leaving behind a note that says "Peace in Vietnam". Paul and Catherine visit Madeleine in a recording studio, where she is recording a new song. She acts distant towards Paul, and after encountering a reporter, asks Paul to fetch a car for her. Paul calls the war ministry, and impersonating a military general, demands a car. One arrives, and he, Madeleine and Catherine depart the premises in it. From January to March 1966, Paul continues conducting opinion polls about politics, love, and other topics. He determines that his lack of objectivity, even when unconscious, resulted in a lack of sincerity in the answers from the people he polled. At a police station, Catherine recounts to an officer that Paul purchased a high-rise apartment. Madeleine wanted to move Elisabeth in with them, which Paul opposed. Paul reportedly fell from a window, which Catherine asserts must have been an accident rather than a suicide. Madeleine, still pregnant, tells the officer that she is not sure what she will do next.


Cast

* Chantal Goya as Madeleine Zimmer, a young singer * Marlène Jobert as Elisabeth Choquet, Madeleine's roommate * Catherine-Isabelle Duport as Catherine-Isabelle, Madeleine's other roommate * Jean-Pierre Léaud as Paul, a romantic young idealist * Michel Debord as Robert Packard, a journalist * Yves Afonso as the man who dies by suicide by stabbing (uncredited) * Elsa Leroy as "Mademoiselle 19 ans", a young French woman whom Paul interviews for an IFOP poll (uncredited)
Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...
and Antoine Bourseiller make uncredited appearances as an actress and a director in the café.
Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in F ...
also makes an uncredited appearance as the wife of an American officer.


Production

In 1965, Anatole Dauman, the head of Argos Films, wanted to re-edit and re-release
Alexandre Astruc Alexandre Astruc (; 13July 192319May 2016) was a French film critic and film director. Biography Before becoming a film director, he was a journalist, novelist and film critic. His contribution to the auteur theory centers on his notion of th ...
's 1952 44-minute film '' The Crimson Curtain''. He decided that he also wanted another medium-length film to accompany Astruc's film and offered the project to Godard, suggesting that Godard adapt Guy de Maupassant's short story ''The Signal''. Godard had been interested in filming ''The Signal'' for several years and agreed to the project. Eventually, Dauman suggested that Godard also adapt Maupassant's short story ''Paul's Mistress'' and secured the rights to both short stories. When filming began, Godard discarded both Maupassant short stories and Maupassant's publishers later agreed that the film was in no way an adaptation of the author's work. The only parts of either short stories that appear in the film is the fact that the main character's name is Paul and the "film within the film" that the main characters go to see at a cinema was initially inspired by ''The Signal''. Godard did not have a shooting script; instead he relied on a spiral notebook filled with ideas, sketches, and dialogue he had handwritten the previous evening. Godard was interested in working with singer Chantal Goya because she was neither a film nor stage actress when she was introduced to him by Daniel Filipacchi on 7 November 1965. Shooting began on November 22, 1965. Godard used natural lighting and a minimal crew throughout the production.


Reception

Due to the portrayal of youth and sex, the film was prohibited to persons under 18 in France—"the very audience it was meant for," griped Godard. At the time of the film's release, French journalist
Georges Sadoul Georges Sadoul (; 4 February 1904 – 13 October 1967) was a French film critic, journalist and cinema writer. He is known for writing encyclopedias of film and filmmakers, many of which have been translated into English. Biography Sadoul w ...
praised the film's ability to speak to young people, while H. Chapier criticized the film for its sexual content but praised Leaud's performance. British critic Tom Milne called it Godard's "most complex film to date." American critic
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
said that it was "that rare achievement: a work of grace and beauty in a contemporary setting."
Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...
called it "the film of the season." Judith Crist said that it had "flashes of original wit and contemporary perceptions."
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...
gave a negative review of the film and called it "entertainment of only the most loose and spotty sort." The film has since garnered widespread critical acclaim and it is often cited as one of Godard's greatest works. On the
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website
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, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A '60s time capsule stuffed with ideas about politics, pop culture, and the battle of the sexes, Masculine-Feminine is one of Godard's classic black-and-white films."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which uses a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
, assigned the film a score of 93 out 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section of the
2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and ...
.


Accolades

At the 16th Berlin International Film Festival, the film won the award for Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People. Jean-Pierre Léaud won the
Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor () was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the films i ...
for his performance in the film.


See also

* List of French-language films *
Yé-yé ''Yé-yé'' () or ''yeyé'' () was a style of pop music that emerged in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term ''yé-yé'' was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music ban ...


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masculin, feminin 1966 films 1966 independent films 1966 romantic drama films 1960s French films 1960s French-language films 1960s Swedish films Films about singers Films based on works by Guy de Maupassant Films directed by Jean-Luc Godard Films produced by Anatole Dauman Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris French black-and-white films French independent films French romantic drama films Swedish black-and-white films Swedish independent films Swedish romantic drama films Films based on French short stories French-language romantic drama films