A Woman Is a Woman | |
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Film poster
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Directed by | Jean-Luc Godard |
Produced by |
Carlo Ponti Georges de Beauregard |
Written by | Jean-Luc Godard |
Starring |
Jean-Claude Brialy Anna Karina Jean-Paul Belmondo |
Music by | Michel Legrand |
Cinematography | Raoul Coutard |
Edited by |
Agnès Guillemot Lila Herman |
Release date
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6 September 1961 |
Running time
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85 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Budget | $160,000 (estimated) |
Box office | 549,931 admissions (France) |
A Woman Is a Woman (French: Une femme est une femme) is a 1961 French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, featuring Anna Karina, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Claude Brialy. It is a tribute to American musical comedy and associated with the French New Wave. It is notable for being the first film Jean-Luc Godard shot in color and Cinemascope.
The film centers on the relationship of exotic dancer Angéla (Karina) and her lover Émile (Brialy). Angéla wants to have a child, but Émile isn't ready. Émile's best friend Alfred (Belmondo) also says he loves Angéla, and keeps up a gentle pursuit. Angéla and Émile have their arguments about the matter; at one point, as they have decided not to speak with each other, they pull books from the shelf and, pointing to the titles, continue their argument. Since Émile stubbornly refuses her request for a child, Angéla finally decides to accept Alfred's plea and sleeps with him. Since she shows she will do what she needs to have a child, she and Émile finally make up so that he might have a chance to become the father. The two have sex, then engage in a bit of wordplay that gives the film its title: an exasperated Émile says "Angéla, tu es infâme" ("Angela, you are horrid"), and she retorts, "Non, je suis une femme" ("No, I am a woman").