New wave magic

The first thing to say is that the Radio Times review is wrong (and probably refers to an earlier Godard film). Anna Karina does not star in this film. The part of Madeline, which is the role she would have played, is taken by Chantal Goya. However, there is a scene where Godard, playing himself, has a foul-mouthed argument with a woman in a cafe, probably his wife (Karina as she was), and he shoots her as they leave the cafe. There is no follow-up to this scene and I was left wondering if this was Godard taking a filmic revenge on his former wife.

Anyway, this is a fascinating film. Using an almost documentary technique Godard exposes the differences between men and women; violence as an everyday fact in our society; and the emotional aloneness of much of our human existance. OK, his men may seem callow and insensitive, his women shallow airheads, but this is hardly the point. The film's construction, montage and the visual and aural textures give this film its own validity. The violent scenes erupt without warning and are unexplained. Again, this is not a criticism, violence is often random and inexplicable. And his characters are often very human in the way they interact with each other, somehow searching for some meaning in their lives. This film now seems a timeless and pertinent comment on the 1960's. It is rooted in its time and yet it has not dated. A fine piece of work by a great director, well served by his collaborators and cast.