Godard's MASCULINE FEMININE is a very difficult film to discuss for those of us who saw it when we were young, and felt an immediate correspondence to the film. In 1966, MASCULINE FEMININE seemed to sum up our feelings: our interest in (radical) politics, our passion for forms of pop culture (especially pop music), our friendships. Godard was the filmmaker who seemed to be making films in the "now", just as soon as events happened. Protests over the Vietnam War raged everywhere, and Godard puts those in the film. On a personal level, the birth control pill was just starting to make its way on the market, and this was also shown.
But it wasn't just the immediacy that marked Godard's films as special, it was the sense of love that envelopes the film. The close-ups of Jean-Pierre Leaud, Chantal Goya, Marlene Jobert and all the others seem to catch these young people at their most vulnerable, their most charming, and their loveliest. Godard seemed genuinely concerned, fascinated, and enthralled by these young people. Of course, there are some difficulties (the ending is like a punch in the stomach; in the interview with Chantal Goya which is an extra on the Criterion Collection DVD, Goya reveals that the Godard insisted on the ending, because he wanted the contrast between Goya's childlike beauty and the horror of what she's saying), but it is a film which still maintains its hold on the affections of so many who loved the film in their youth. And i think the film is like a time capsule, and has much to show new audiences about a special time in the 20th Century.
But it wasn't just the immediacy that marked Godard's films as special, it was the sense of love that envelopes the film. The close-ups of Jean-Pierre Leaud, Chantal Goya, Marlene Jobert and all the others seem to catch these young people at their most vulnerable, their most charming, and their loveliest. Godard seemed genuinely concerned, fascinated, and enthralled by these young people. Of course, there are some difficulties (the ending is like a punch in the stomach; in the interview with Chantal Goya which is an extra on the Criterion Collection DVD, Goya reveals that the Godard insisted on the ending, because he wanted the contrast between Goya's childlike beauty and the horror of what she's saying), but it is a film which still maintains its hold on the affections of so many who loved the film in their youth. And i think the film is like a time capsule, and has much to show new audiences about a special time in the 20th Century.