Response X- A Woman is a Woman

Godard is seen as being a director who experiments a great deal. Many film enthusiasts say that with Godard films "you are always getting something new." It is true that Godard makes many different types of films and all of them have a different genre, but I notice some similarities between his films. In "A Woman is a Woman," many qualities appeared that I previously saw in "Breathless."

I am beginning to notice that Godard is a director who focuses on artifice and seeks to keep his audience separated from the reality of the film and make them aware that they are watching a film. There are several scenes and particular cinematic qualities in "A Woman is a Woman" that seem to be purposefully artificial. The most obvious element of this film that makes it artificial is the soundtrack. Music is an element of film that seeks to elevate the emotion in a scene. A scene that is sad and would normally make one cry, would not be as sad if it did not have music. Although music is an important element in film, often times it is ignored by viewers. The soundtrack in "A Woman is a Woman" seeks to draw attention to itself. The soundtrack is very unique and Godard plays with the non diegetic music to make it stick out. An example of this is appears during Anna Karina's dance number. Whenever she is singing, the music cuts out, but as soon as there is a pause in the lyrics, the music returns. It is as if Godard wants his audience to pay careful attention to both the music and the lyrics. The fact that the non diegetic music draws attention to itself lessens this film's realism.

Another way this film demonstrates artifice, is with the actors' manner of acting. The acting is not very realistic and at times it reminded me of a play. During the very first scene that takes place in Karina's apartment, her boyfriend returns home and before they start arguing, they stop and say "before we begin, lets bow to our audience," and they turn and take a bow. Not only was this part funny, it escalated the film's artifice.

There were also countless references to other films such as "Breathless" and "Shoot the Piano Player" in "A Woman is a Woman." This also lessened the realism of the film since some of the actors who appeared in the film also starred in the films reference. An example of this is when Belmondo, the star of "Breathless," tells his friend to hurry and finish what he is saying because "Breathless" is about to start on TV.

Another element of this film that is worth looking at is the comedy that appears in it. I laughed on several occasions during the screening of "A Woman is a Woman." The comedy in this film was unlike any I have seen before. Comedy was achieved mostly due to the characters' childish nature. The funniest scene in this film was when Karina and her boyfriend call each other names by means of the titles on books they have on the shelf. I had never seen anything like that before. It was very original and hilarious. Another way made his film comedic, was with his editing. I laughed a great deal when the boyfriend character is angry at Karina and exclaims "She can go fry an egg," and the next scene shows Karina literally frying an egg.

Overall, I can say that I liked this film. The fact that "A Woman is a Woman" was so original and funny, made it very entertaining.