A Woman Is a Woman

A Woman Is a Woman
Film poster
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Produced by Carlo Ponti
Georges de Beauregard
Written by Jean-Luc Godard
Starring Jean-Claude Brialy
Anna Karina
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Music by Michel Legrand
Cinematography Raoul Coutard
Edited by Agnès Guillemot
Lila Herman
Release date
 6 September 1961
Running time
 85 minutes
Country France
Language French
Budget $160,000 (estimated)
Box office 549,931 admissions (France)[1]

A Woman Is a Woman (French: Une femme est une femme) is a 1961 French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, featuring Anna Karina, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Claude Brialy. It is a tribute to American musical comedy and associated with the French New Wave. It is Godard's third feature film (the release of his second, Le Petit Soldat, was delayed by censorship), and his first in color and Cinemascope.

Plot

The film centers on the relationship of exotic dancer Angéla (Karina) and her lover Émile (Brialy). Angéla wants to have a child, but Émile isn't ready. Émile's best friend Alfred (Belmondo) also says he loves Angéla, and keeps up a gentle pursuit. Angéla and Émile argue about the matter; at one point they decide not to speak to each other, so continue their argument by pulling books from the shelf and pointing to the titles. Since Émile stubbornly refuses her request for a child, Angéla finally decides to accept Alfred's plea and sleeps with him. This proves that she will do what she must to have a child. She and Émile finally make up, so he has a chance to become the father. The two have sex, then engage in a bit of wordplay that gives the film its title: an exasperated Émile says "Angéla, tu es infâme" ("Angela, you are horrid"), and she retorts, "Non, je suis une femme" ("No, I am a woman").[2]

Cast

  • Anna Karina - Angela Récamier
  • Jean-Claude Brialy - Émile
  • Jean-Paul Belmondo - Alfred Lubitsch
  • Henri Attal - Faux aveugle #2 (uncredited)
  • Karyn Balm - (uncredited)
  • Dorothée Blank - Prostitute 3 (uncredited)
  • Marie Dubois - Angela's friend (uncredited)
  • Ernest Menzer - Bar Owner (uncredited)
  • Jeanne Moreau - Woman in Bar (herself)
  • Nicole Paquin - Suzanne (uncredited)
  • Gisèle Sandré - Prostitute 2 (uncredited)
  • Marion Sarraut - Prostitute 1 (uncredited)
  • Dominique Zardi - Faux aveugle #1 (uncredited)

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Box office information for Jean Paul Belmondo films at Box Office Story
  2. ↑ Brody, Richard (2008). Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard.
  3. ↑ "Berlinale 1961: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
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