Masculin Féminin

Masculin féminin: 15 faits précis

Trailer

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

France, Sweden, 1966

Drama, Romance

Synopsis

Paul is young, just demobbed from service in the French Army, and disillusioned with civilian life. While his girlfriend builds herself a career as a pop singer, Paul becomes more isolated from his peers—“the children of Marx and Coca Cola”, as the credits announce—and from their social politics.

Masculin Féminin Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

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Awards & Festivals

Cannes Film Festival

2016

Berlin International Film Festival

1966 | 2 wins including: Best Actor (Silver Berlin Bear)

1966 | Honorable Mention: Interfilm Award

Locarno International Film Festival

2014

São Paulo International Film Festival

1989

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Cast & Crew

Articles from the Notebook

High Contrast and the Girls Will Be Beautiful: Willy Kurant on Shooting Godard’s “Masculin Féminin”

The great cinematographer of films by Godard, Maurice Pialat, and Agnès Varda discusses his experience and his signature.

Critics reviews

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Everything Is...

Unlike Vivre sa vie, Masculine Feminine was filmed with an unadorned directness that looked the performers in the face as if in discussion with them… Where the camera moves in Vivre sa vie called attention to themselves, now the style of filming emphasized the performers. If Vivre sa vie, with its elaborate text, was something of an oratorio, Masculine Feminine, with its largely improvised dialogue, was more of a work of journalism.

Richard Brody

May 13, 2007

As in Vivre sa vie (1962), but more rigorously, Godard tries out all the available techniques (long takes versus extensive editing, static camera versus moving camera) as he experiments with different ways of rendering the verbal exchanges between his characters––demonstrating that truth can never be simply filmed in a singular, transparent way, while trying, all the same, to reach and express that truth through a mosaic or collage structure.

Adrian Martin

September 19, 2005

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The Boston Phoenix

An explosion of youth and freshness, from a time when anything seemed possible? The snappiest piece of intellectual pop cinema ever made? Yes, Jean-Luc Godard’s Masculin féminin is these things. But watching the movie now, 39 years after it was made, I’m struck most by its sadness, its harshness, and its pessimism.

Chris Fujiwara

March 11, 2005

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What are people saying?

Aaken's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
Aaken

The innocence of youth as they think, discover, thrive in what they believe in, as boys try to understand girls, and the world around them, and girls learn to understand boys. Jean Pierre Léaud was very the icon of his generation, Chantal Goya is absolutely lovely and fresh as his lover. For those who know Godard's work, the film is filled with amusing self-references. Look for Brigitte Bardot's cameo!
January 24, 2019 18:27
- 2
- 0
Adam Chapman's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
Adam Chapman

Ah Godard, there are so many layers to his films, this is another fine testament to how rich and layered his films are. Weaving together the minutiae of everyday conversation with undercurrents of political discourse all in a single film. I think his work is at its best when it crackles with politics, pop and philosophy and this one is no exception, another comprehensive study of what it means to be human.
October 10, 2019 09:08
- 4
- 1
'king Harold's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
'king Harold

Incredible, I hadn't seen it before, so prescient in these times, all the head and the heart, thank you MUBI.
May 25, 2016 03:41
- 1
- 0
smndvdcl's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
smndvdcl

The organic evolution of dialogue, with its unique beats and semi-improvised execution, adds another level to Godard's discursive cinematic traits. One of his finest.
January 24, 2019 18:24
- 2
- 0
Benjamin Bland's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
Benjamin Bland

An absolute joy. Jean-Pierre Léaud's character is so marvellously ridiculous and pathetic.
February 26, 2016 00:04
- 1
- 0
Beth Riv's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
Beth Riv

Godard expone a la juventud francesa de hace casi 50 años y los argumentos exhibidos siguen siendo relevantes en la actualidad. La ironía con la cual interpreta temas que caen en vil "cliché", es lo que la hace grandiosa. Es una cinta disfrutable, gracias al estilo que caracteriza su trabajo; esto se puede ver en como satíricamente crea sutileza para mostrar situaciones incómodas.
April 21, 2019 14:42
- 3
- 0
Lynch/Fellini's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
Lynch/Fellini

Godard's film has some wonderfully surreal moments. But what makes this film so special is its heart, and the yearn to tell this story of love, loss, and relationships!
October 07, 2019 18:57
- 6
- 0
Marcus Killerby's rating of the film Masculin Féminin
Marcus Killerby

If Masculin Feminin does have anything to say, it is certainly not with political messages. Rather it presents the cacophony of fleeting feelings, ill-thought out ideas and ever-changing ideals that are present in the minds of all teenagers. This film has no political messages, only political characters.
October 07, 2019 18:58
- 10
- 9