The movie “A Woman is a Woman” by Jean-Luc Godard focuses on the main character, Angela and her desire to have a baby. This desire leads to the conflict of the movie which involves her boyfriend Emil, and his best friend Alfred. Although the movie is a comedy, it takes on serious topics and stereotypes of each gender. It shows how society was back then, and the roles each gender played in it, albeit in a light tone.

When I first heard that the movie would be a romance comedy, I began to think about the stereotypical love stories that is shown in our movies today. However, the film goes beyond the conventional love stories that we see in Hollywood and makes fun of stereotypes that would be considered offensive in today’s standards. For starters, in terms of the background of the characters, Angela is quite different from most females we see in romance movies. Her job being a stripper makes her less desirable as compared to women who are portrayed to be princesses, heiresses of rich families, or being in positions which are desirable for men. In addition, Angela’s attitude seems so whimsical compared to most women in movies, she seems to have no driving force as to why she does what she does (in this case, wanting a baby), in fact when asked by her boyfriend as to why she wants a baby, she just responds “Because I want one”.  Another difference the film does compared to today is how Emil, as the boyfriend, reacts to Angela’s request of wanting a baby. In most movies, the guy would try to please the girl or if not, they would try soothe her to make her have a better understanding as to why he is not willing to comply with her request. Emil, however, seem to avoid the question as much as possible, or if not, try to aggravate Angela whenever given the opportunity. He even goes as far as taunting her to have a baby with his best friend or even with a complete stranger.

Although their arguments are portrayed in a comedic way, such as them arguing using books to show their displeasure with one another, they touch on stereotypes that we have created for each gender and show the social expectations that we had set for each gender back then.  For example, in one part of the movie Angela is singing that although she is crazy no man would leave her because she is beautiful, which play into the stereotypes that women only have value because of their face. Or in one part of the movie where Angela states that while women are allowed to avoid questions men are not. Although some of the these stereotypes or norms no longer exist as much today, there are still hints of them in our society. I found this part quite interesting since it shows how movements, such as feminism, have changed the set roles and our views of each gender in modern day society.  

Overall, the movie was quite enjoyable. Although it seems light and comedic for the most parts, it touches on topics which make you reflect on the dialogue. It makes you think about some of the scenes which just seem random and have no context, and makes you wonder if these scenes actually have a deeper meaning, or if is just there to confuse the viewers (similar to how the song of The Beatles “Yellow Submarine” has no meaning and is just to make fun of people thinking too hard on the lyrics of a song).  It is also quite a refreshing take on romance, which, however, left me wondering as to whether the movie truly was a comedy or a tragedy.

“Is this a tragedy or a comedy? Either way it’s a masterpiece,” says Émile Récamier. At first, Une Femme Est Une Femme presents itself to its viewers a seemingly simple and straightforward plot: the main character, Angela wants a baby. Yet, the film is far from uncomplicated because of the way Jean-Luc Godard wanted the narrative to play out. By having an ambiguous genre, unpredictable characters, and witty pokes on musicals, watching this leaves its audience dazed and thinking.

Boxing the movie into a certain stereotype is almost impossible, because it breaks many of our preconceived notions of what a romantic comedy or a musical—let alone film—should be. Angela, with her do-it-herself attitude explains quite explicitly early on while singing and dancing, “I’d like to be in a musical…with Cyd Charisse…and Gene Kelly…Choreography…by Bob Fosse!”. Scenes like this, together with the abrupt music cuts, allow us to realize that this is not your typical movie. For one, the characters seem to break the fourth wall many times and obviously at that. Another notable scene is when the main characters Angela and Émile are arguing with each other, then it cuts straight to them kissing afterwards. It makes viewers feel as though they are being reminded that we are not just watching these people’s lives, but that everything is one big, entertaining spectacle.   

Even though we are constantly being reminded that this is a work of fiction, one can’t help but notice Godard’s play on realism. The outward façade of the film and its supposedly simple plot actually unfolds not long after to show us the real situation of Angela. Viewers begin to understand more what is going on inside the quirky exotic dancer, as we follow her throughout the day, and even fight with her lover, Émile. Love and relationships are not uncommon topics in art, after all. At one point, she says, “It’s not fair. It’s always when you’re with someone that you’re not with them. And vice versa.” This scene is particularly striking because we get to see things in her point of view, literally. Clips of strangers walking past and staring into the camera makes audiences realize this is what she goes through on a daily basis.

While the overall theme might seem heavy, the movie mixes in just the right amount of comedy and satire to keep us from thinking that this is solely a drama. Some of the comedy was physical, like Angela trying to slam the door but failing thrice, or the couple arguing by taking turns holding the lamp and looking for books with insults in the title. Other times it was through clever dialogue, such as when Alfred outsmarted the bartender with the question, “Answer yes, and I owe you 100 francs. Answer no, and you owe me 100, okay? Can you loan me 100 francs?”

But what some of us miss is that the film is not about whether or not the couple gets back together and lives happily ever after. It is a narrative that talks about womanhood and freedom through its main star of the film, Angela. The number of times she changes her alone gives us an indication of what kind of woman she is—unpredictable. In one of the scenes, she asks Émile if he would rather have fish or meat for dinner. Even though he would always choose the exact opposite of what she actually made, she still managed to present her well-done roast beef to him. Taking it into a larger scale, even though Émile was against having a baby with her at first, in the end Angela got what she wanted. The film ends with him telling her, “Angela, you are horrid,” and her reply being, “No, I am a woman,” together with a playful wink.

But although she is very unique and has her own quirks, this film talks about women in a general sense as well. A lot of the time, their dialogue gives us a peek into what actually goes on in women’s minds. Sometimes it is playfully, like when she tells Alfred to stop avoiding the question, but when he states he is just following her example, she remarks, “Women are allowed to avoid the question.” Other times it is in a somber mood, like when she is crying in the kitchen and says that we should boycott women who don’t cry. All of these are realities that we are all too familiar with, such as that sometimes women don’t say what they mean, but other times they do as they are complicated. But one thing is for certain—women always get what they want in the end.

Comedy meets drama as Jean-Luc Godard brings life to a cinematic artwork and masterpiece in his film A Woman is a Woman. The feature delves into the recurring conundrum of Angela as she attempts to persuade her unwilling boyfriend, Émile, to have a child with her. Godard constructed an unconventional comedy on a whole new different level through the use of theatrical and playful elements woven into each and every scene. The various concoctions of conflict, drama, romance and comedy evident in the film create a harmonious balance of happiness and sadness highlighting Godard’s scintillating talent in the making of it. 

As a mere comedic element to add to the film, Godard plays on the use of print and text as a method to elucidate more vividly the narrative or storyline of the film. This includes the use of text as a way of narrating the events of the film and the continuous imparting of dialogue through book titles which was evident at the very start of the film. This was seen during the scene where Angela was inside a bookstore looking for a magazine to buy. As she was looking at the magazine rack, the camera focuses on a pregnancy magazine that Angela was eyeing on. Godard has already given us a peek behind the curtains of the dilemma or conflict that our actors will be encountering in the film. 

Another take on Godard’s film is his tremendous scoring that added depth and zest to the film. Not only did Michael Legrand did a great job in properly inserting the score to the most appropriate scenes in the film, he also was able to convey the feelings and mood of certain characters. When Alfred and Angela were on the phone, the scoring would be cut into several pieces as scenarios would switch from Angela’s to Alfred’s. Angela, at the time, who was feeling distraught and disappointed, was given a dull and almost empty scoring, while Alfred who was gladly talking to Angela on the phone was given a lively scoring with a mix of background noise. Other than the perfectly woven scoring of the film fit into several scenes contributed to the theatrical element that was evident, making it look like the characters were almost always about to burst in a song, ready to sing a musical piece. 

A Woman is a Woman celebrates female empowerment and sexual-liberalist themes laced into its storyline that revolves around the incessant dilemmas a woman experiences in the midst of contradictions and oppositions against her needs and desires. In the film, Angela is portrayed as a classic archetypal woman who continues to experience the existing disruptive masculine behavior among the men she is surrounded with who impede her from having a child. Phrases such as “Women are the cause of suffering!” or “women always play the victim”, were used and uttered by Émile to Angela. Which is why, gender plays a pivotal role in Godard’s film as he chooses to empower women through Angela with her independent and liberated character that has eventually given her what she wanted at the start of film. 

The title “A Woman is a Woman” was uttered at the end of the film after Angela finally got what she wants. This highlights the character of Angela as she achieved success in the end, for a woman is a woman and it doesn’t get any better than that. 

Being a graduating Economics Major at the University, I had never taken a film class in all my years of schooling. Having cousins who are local film directors, triggered my curiosity in the beauty of the entertainment industry that we all seem to love so much. Despite my lack of knowledge in the subject, I opted to enroll in a class that I believed would further give me the capacity to truly understand the value of entertainment.

Godard’s A Woman is a Woman was relatively an interesting choice to begin the semester. It tells the story of Angela and her partner, Emile. The conflict of the characters begins when Angela decides that she wants to have a child, while Emile does not want to be a father yet. From this point forward, never-ending love quarrels would erupt as the two main characters were very firm on the choices they’ve made regarding the topic. As desperate as she was, Angela would even begin to have an odd relationship with Alfred, Emile’s best friend. Despite the gravity of the issue in their loving relationship, the two seemed to have remained in love with one another as they continued to live together.

Although the issues seemed to be quite sensitive, Godard was able to present it in an unusual, yet funny way. As the film, A Woman is a Woman was released in the 1960s, the type of comedy presented appeared to be quite different. I’m honestly not sure if that had something to do with the age of the film or the foreign cultural background that I have not been accustomed to yet. The silliness of the characters was quite entertaining. The way the two would argue in their flat, about having a baby was very immature in a sense. Instead of sitting down and a having a mature conversation, Emile would often hop on his bike in their dining room to avoid the topic. Angela, on the other hand, would continuously beg Emile to help her make a baby. In a very silly way, Emile would even go around his block looking for someone else to father Angela’s baby. This sense of comedy was quite enjoyable to the audience as it was not boring and dull.

The film felt like it was quite raw but also creative. The playfulness of the audio and visuals for a movie that was produced in the 1960s was sometimes confusing but still quite enjoyable and fun. The way the directors paused the music at the beginning of the film while Angela would sing the lyrics, rattled much of us, who were watching. For a moment, I was not sure if it had something to do with the lack of technology during the production. As the movie went on, it seemed like it was also just a means for the Godard to continue to be playful in the production of the film. I also found it quite interesting that the characters would speak to the camera as if they were addressing and creating a bond between the audience and themselves.

Towards the end of the film, A Woman is a Woman tried to make the audience depict whether it was actually a comedy or a tragedy. The movie proved to be very light and different in a sense when I found myself not really getting affected when Angela had sexual relations with Alfred. As someone who enjoys watching romantic flicks, it was quite interesting that I felt very indifferent about the situation, where I would normally be frustrated at certain characters. Although I was very indifferent about the situation, I still felt like I could somehow relate to the characters. Despite their odd relationship, the two seemed to understand that they would always end up with one another. This version of love seems to be quite evident in the youth today.

As I don’t usually watch European films, A Woman is a Woman seems to have been a very interesting choice to start of the semester as it invokes unique and different emotions to its viewers than what I was used to when watching other movies. Godard’s confidence in taking risks seems to have paid off as the movie seemed to be quite a success. I am looking forward to watching other European films and seeing if they too can present something that is new to me.

As someone who does not watch a lot of movies, the film, A Woman Is A Woman came as a strange and new experience for me. I felt like I was watching a musical play onstage without a lot of the singing because of the way the actors talked and the way the movie was filmed. There were a lot of things I liked and a lot of things that kept me confused and frustrated. The first thing that got me frustrated was the background music. Right from the start of the movie, there were times when the music would just abruptly end. In the beginning it was fine but it continued on and on and it distracted me from enjoying the movie. I felt like the flow of the movie was being broken whenever the music suddenly stops. I could not concentrate on what the characters were saying because there where times when there is a strong background music whenever no one is talking but suddenly stops to let a character speak a few words then raise the volume of the background music again then end again abruptly when someone else speaks. I don’t understand why can’t the movie just end the music just before the dialogue of the characters then start again after all the dialogue or to just lower the volume whenever a character speaks. The next thing I hated was the lack of information about the characters of the movie. We know that Angela works in a striptease club and she desperately wants a baby. Emile, Angela’s boyfriend, rejects Angela whenever she asks for a baby. Then there is Alfred who is in love with Angela. But, why? Why does Emile refuse to give Angela a child? Why is he ok with Angela sleeping with other guys to get impregnated? Why is he ok with Angela working in a striptease club where there are other guys who watch her? These questions kept on bugging me as I continued to watch the movie. I know that the movie is not a serious type of movie but I at least wanted some explanation for their attitudes. It just frustrates me a lot when things keep on happening without explanations.

Of course there were things that I liked in the movie. For example there were some cute/ comedy scenes that I really liked. For example when they were fighting and did not want to talk with each other. They picked books and continued to argue with each other by using the title of the books. It was childish and silly but it was a first for me. Emile just starts to randomly ride a bicycle inside their home. It is just so weird that it made me think about them and got me intrigued. Another would be the weird backgrounds like when the setting is in front of Angela’s house. There is a couple who keeps on hugging each other without showing their faces. Every time the setting was in front of Angela’s house, they were always present and it caught my attention. Why were they there? Was there a purpose? I actually sometimes focused on them instead of the main characters. A Woman Is A Woman does not have a plot that will get viewers hooked or make them start thinking. However it had a lot of weird things that got me intrigued and led me to enjoy the movie.

Jean Luc-Godard’s film entitled, A Woman is a Woman portrays a unique type of love story, which somehow transpired into a love triangle at the latter part of the movie. The story-line mainly focused on the on Angela’s dilemma of wanting a baby with her boyfriend. There was a scene in the film where she placed a pillow inside her clothes to see what she looked like if she was pregnant. However, Emile, her boyfriend kept denying this wish of hers. Each time she asked, it seemed like he was appalled and was really against with the idea. Though, I found it quite unusual how he kept asking other men to do the deed for him including his friend Alfred. As the film progressed, however, it was later on revealed that Alfred actually had feelings for Angela all along and was willing to do anything for her so that she would just choose him instead– this included impregnating her. Things got complicated when Angela slept with Alfred despite committing this infidelity, she still chose to go back to Emile and worked things out with him. At this point, I found it weird how their relationship continued after that incident, it seemed like they compromised. Emile finally agreed and decided to be the father of the Angela’s baby. Overall, their situation and how they handled it quite baffled me because even if they were communicating, both of them seemed to be stubborn about what they want individually, which led them to not really listen to what the other has to say about it.

Apart from the storyline of the film, I think it is important to point out that this is not the typical Hollywood chick-flick film that I thought it would be given the title of the movie. It is very apparent that the film industry already developed and improved throughout the years ever since this movie came out. Given that the it was made in 1961, the effects were not as great as the ones now. I think that this French Film did not have a smooth transition of scenes since the intervals of the background music would abruptly stop each time there was a dialogue being said, which kind of distracted me a bit while watching. However, it seems like this was the attempt of the filmmaker in trying to make it into a musical. It was quite odd since if I were to compare it to contemporary film-musicals, the only song and dance segment done in the film is when Angela performed her striptease performance at the bar. Aside from this, a silent comedy vibe was shown whenever they would not speak to each but still continued to fight and argue each other by way of creating insults through the book titles.

Although, it was able to show the authenticity of life and depicted it through film. It tried to capture and showcase how love and relationships work at that time and in their particular situation.  Thus, it can be said that it was not the typical chick-flick standard storyline, it was something different but seemed to be more real in a sense that it could possibly happen in an actual relationship.