Masculine-Feminine
d. Jean-Luc Godard, 1966
A title card towards the end of Godard's Masculine-Feminine reads "This film could be called: 'The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola.'" Godard uses these title cards, as well as his narration, to provide comments on cinema and the world while the movie is going on. In this one, he's telling the audience that these characters are torn between the revolutionary ideas they seem to believe, and the consumer culture that they inhabit. The film is Godard's meditation on these aspects of society.
At the center of Masculine-Feminine are Paul (Jean-Pierre Leud) and Madeleine (Chantal Goya). He just came back from the army and is disillusioned with his life, she's an aspiring pop star that's not much interested in politics. At first, they work together in a fashion magazine and he constantly tries to seduce her. Eventually, they become boyfriend and girlfriend and the rest of the film is Godard's examination of the youth culture of the 60s (other characters include Madeleine's two friends Elisabeth and Catherine and Paul's radical buddy Robert).
The relationship between Leud and Goya is as captivating as Belmondo's and Selberg's in Breathless or even Karina's and Belmondo's in Pierrot le Fou. Ultimately, Masculine-Feminine stands as one of Godard's most accessible and enjoyable films.
