A Woman Is a Woman

"Is this a tragedy or a comedy? Either way, it's a masterpiece."

1961 1h 23m FR

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 414

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Longing for a baby, a stripper pursues another man in order to make her boyfriend jealous.

“Is this a tragedy or a comedy? Either way, it's a masterpiece.”

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Cast

Anna Karina
Angela
Jean-Claude Brialy
Émile Récamier
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Alfred Lubitsch
Henri Attal
Fake Blind #2 (uncredited)
Karyn Balm
(uncredited)
Dorothée Blanck
Prostitute 3 / 'L'Opera Mouffe' shown on TV screen (uncredited)
Catherine Demongeot
Magazine Girl (uncredited)
Marie Dubois
Angela's Friend (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Writers: Jean-Luc Godard, Geneviève Cluny
Languages: French
Countries: France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 63% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, shot by Raoul Coutard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michel Legrand. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Agnès Guillemot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-Luc Godard directs. Raoul Coutard behind the camera. Michel Legrand scores. Agnès Guillemot cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Italy. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Earned back only 63% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
465 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.
6Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, shot by Raoul Coutard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Michel Legrand. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Agnès Guillemot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Anna Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy and Jean-Paul Belmondo carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Is this a tragedy or a comedy? Either way, it's a masterpiece.".
11IMDB entry: tt0055572 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Original score: Michel Legrand
Editing: Agnès Guillemot
Production design: Bernard Evein
Costume design: Jacqueline Moreau
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $160,000
Box office: $100,655
Return: 63% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: A Woman Is a Woman (1961)

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Jean-Luc Godard

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What people are saying

anna cruz2012-07-08
★ 9/10
Jean Luc Godard と Anna Karina のおのろけ映画って言われちゃうくらい、funnyでcute、charmingな映画。　Godardお馴染みの引用シーンで大好きなものが１つ。Alfred de Mussetの格言劇「戯れに恋はすまじ」の科白をAnna Karinaが。 " 男はみんな嘘つきで、浮気で、見下げはてたものであり情感の奴隷だ。女はすべて裏切り者で、滑稽で、物見高くて性根が腐っている。人は恋愛ではいくたびとなく欺かれ、傷つけられ、不幸になる。しかし人は愛するのだ。そして自分の墓穴のふちまで来た時、こしかたを振り返り独り言を言うのだ、わたしは度々苦しんだ、時には考え違いもした、しかしわたしは愛した。" I believe that all the girls would love this movie ♡
CRCulver2018-08-26
★ 5/10
Jean-Luc Godard's first two films (À bout de souffle and Le petit soldat) were thrillers that drew inspiration from American noir, but Une femme est une femme (A Woman is a Woman, 1961) shifts gears drastically to a riff on American musical comedies, with the characters occasionally singing and dancing, and the camera jumping between realistic depictions and these musical interludes. But as one of the seminal figures of the French New Wave with its desire to shake up conventions, Godard added some elements of his own. As the film opens, the soundtrack keeps cutting abruptly in and out, an aural equivalent of the unsettling jump cuts with which he started his career. There are allusions to his earlier films and to his New Wave peers, and just a touch of sarcastic allusions to French political tensions. The plot is fairly simple: cabaret dancer Angela (Anna Karina), who is clearly not looking to buck any traditional sex roles in an age of dawning feminism, wants a baby. Unable to get it from her partner Émile (Jean-Claude Brialy), she gradually welcomes the advances of Émile's best friend Alfred (Jean-Paul Belmondo). The way in which this triangle ultimately works out is a little surprising considering that it was made in 1961. The most appropriate adjective overall for this film is "cute". The characters spend a lot of time bickering, but always with witty ripostes. Karina here is not yet the great actress of later roles, and Godard uses her instead as essentially a Barbie doll (nice to look at, not much there), but it works well enough for this particular story. The film was shot with no fixed script, and while it's not a free-for-all, there are clearly improvisational elements here that only add to the film's charm, such as the characters' encounters with everyday Parisians in street scenes.
CinemaSerf2024-03-14
★ 7/10
Anna Karina is good in this quite entertainingly daft romantic caper. She is exotic dancer "Angela", happily living with "Émile" (Jean-Claude Brialy) but there's one big snag - she wants to start a family whilst he would sooner just ride his bike. "Émile" is nothing if not considerate, though, so suggests that maybe she do the deed with his best pal "Alfred" (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and that way everyone is happy. It's fair to say that he hasn't exactly discussed this scenario with his friend at the time of suggestion, either! Anyway, for the next hour or so, Jean-Luc Godard takes us on quite a merry dance that at times is a little "Carry-On" in style. Aided by a jolly and mischievous score from Michel Legrand, we soon find ourselves amidst a trio where misunderstandings, jealousy and lots of Charles Aznavour start to feature prominently. It's not exactly hilarious, this - but there's lots going on between the three characters and (even translated) the dialogue is quite refreshingly candid about matters of the heart - there's precious little sentiment for us to get bogged down with here. I'm also sure that I spotted Jeanne Moreau supping a Dubonnet in a bar here, and that's never a bad thing either. It's maybe not a film that's so memorable, but for ninety minutes it certainly entertains amiably enough.