Jean-Luc Godard’s VIVRE SA VIE (Classic Revival

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If you think Godard's political, allegorical, theoretical approach to filmmaking always outshines his ability to produce believable and emotional portraiture, then check out VIVRE SA VIE, showing in a new print. His fourth feature tells the tale of a working class young woman, Nana (Anna Karina), as life goes from bad to worse. Despite the breakdown into chapters (complete with title cards) the film is at first an unstructured manifesto intended to persuade the audience that capitalism can only leads to the commoditization of all things, including our flesh. But this is merely a single thread in the complex nature of the film. Communication is flawed, character and cinema are experienced and molded, and there are more than thirteen ways to look at ones wife through a viewfinder. At times Godard is mimicking the tropes of documentary, at others he is relying on overt reference (Dreyer's THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, for example), and at others he is doing what he does best (using framing and composition to make sure that no one present misunderstands the emotional distance a character feels). One would he hard pressed to find another film with such an abrupt and sad ending that still makes one leave the theater with a smile. Poetic, beautiful, and concise. (1962, 85 min, 35mm) JH - Cine-File.info