| Actors:
| Jean-Pierre Léaud, Chantal Goya, Marlène Jobert, Michel Debord, Catherine-Isabelle Duport | | Director:
| Jean-Luc Godard | | Format:
| Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | | Language:
| English, French, Swedish | | Subtitle:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Criterion | | Run Time:
| 103 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| September 20, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 15 reviews |
|
Average Customer Review:
 ( 15 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 23 found the following review helpful:
 Lost Generation of 1960'sDec 15, 2003
By Doug Anderson
My favorite Godard film is Pierrot Le Fou and Masculine/Feminine is usually considered alongside Pierrot because the two films do make for an interesting contrast. Pierrot Le Fou is the romantics Godard film and Masculine/Feminine is the realists Godard film. Both films deal with disaffected people at two different times in life. Pierrot stars Belmondo and Karina as disaffected adults -- when the two meet Belmondo is already married but Karina gives him an excuse to abandon his boring bourgeoisie existence and head off on a road trip where he learns through the helpful example of Karina what true freedom is. Maculine/Feminine -- starring Leaud and Goya -- is about younger people disaffected by their mundane lives but neither really knows what to do about it. They each have vague dreams but neither has much direction or any real hope and their time together leads neither toward any increased self-awareness. Pierrot Le Fou is filmed outside in the sun by the sea and the atmosphere inspires the characters who attempt to communicate but who for the most part remain trapped within themselves and their own private relationship with the world -- even though the two characters remain at an unclosable distance from one another there is a sense of shared adventure that gives the film its romantic feel. Ultimately in Pierrot le Fou increased freedom also means increased self-awareness and increased awareness of each persons singular nature so the film moves inexorably toward a tragic end. Masculine/Feminine takes place primarily indoors and there is no sense of adventure but rather one of the world closing in as they try to come to grips with what that unavoidable world they are confronted with is all about. Even though Masc/Fem is about younger people these are people who live in the real world whether they want to or not. These two films as another reviewer mentioned make excellent companion pieces -- interesting to see Godards treatment of disaffected people from two perspectives, the poetic and the realist. At this phase in Godards career he was not overtly political but politics plays an increasing role in the way his characters relate to each other and feel about the world, especially in Masc/Fem where the masculine half of that equation shows a flicker or two of a growing political consciousness . In later films Godard will develop his own political ideas but this phase in his career remains my favorite. If the New Wave is all about the disaffected lost generation of the sixties then Godard is that generations Hemingway.
25 of 29 found the following review helpful:
The French "New Wave" at its heightAug 12, 1999
Amazon's review is right on the money concerning this film. What I would add is that this film best shows the change that female sexual liberation had on society. The boy, totally in love, has nothing of value to give to a girl who considers sex an everyday occurance -- a big change from the going-steady days of the late fifties and early sixties when sex was the culmination of a protracted courtship. The masculine and feminine roles changed forever and continue so to this day. Goddard was there first. In 1966, this film was cutting edge. In 1999 it remains an important work with a lot to say to the present generation concerning the battle of the sexes that has, apparently, been won for good by the ladies. I saw it in 1966 on a first date with a very conservative girl who was convinced after we left the theatre that I was a sex pervert. Unfortunately for me she was as yet unwashed by the New Wave.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
the children of marx and coca cola on the big screenMar 12, 2003
By Sarah_Aliza
A great movie. An interesting stop in Godard's career. A pseudo-revolutionary and a pop singer have an odd relationship. It is worth it to watch this one alongside "Pierrot Le Fou," because the two movies are different yet at the same time quite fluid. In fact, if this one does not hook you, I would give "Pierrot" a try and then come back to "Masculin/Feminin." Jean-Pierre Leaud (from The 400 Blows) is particularly excellent in this film.
16 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Boy Meets GirlFeb 12, 2005
By MICHAEL ACUNA
Jean-Luc Godard's "Masculine -Feminine" first opened in Los Angeles 38 years ago but it's charms and timeless tenderness are as insinuating and thoughtful as they were in 1966.
Jean-Pierre Leaud as Paul, Godard's hero is passionately in love with Madeleine (Chantal Goya) but Paul is also passionately in hate of the war in Vietnam and the De Gaulle government. Godard is making a love story but he is making it in the real world of France, 1966: student riots, a world that Godard describes as "the world of the children of Marx and Coca Cola."
Godard is not making a docudrama though and he lets us know this with his formal structuring of the plot: he divides Paul's story into chapters to make sure we understand that this is a movie that we are watching and that he is a film maker arranging and conducting the scenes.
Despite all this though: Godard has made a thoughtful and touching film about fervent young love and the blind, maybe even mis-guided righteousness of the young and foolish.
"Masculine-Feminine" is real and superbly made and it a pleasure to re-discover it's many charms and to experience once again it's enchanting and vulnerable love story.
7 of 9 found the following review helpful:
The innocence of sexNov 06, 2005
By G. A. Kaufman
Excellent movie. Jean-Pierre Leaud is playing the same insecure but dogmatic, innocent but manipulator, sex-obsessed but sex-ignorant character that he played so well for Truffaut, and he fits perfectly in this story as well. He as Paul falls crazily in love with Madeleine, who is insecure but open-minded, innocent but risk-aware, sex-interested but also sex-ignorant enough to be afraid about being - and to get - pregnant.
The script of the 60s is there: the young discover affluence and idealism, light entertainment with the heavy duty of changing the world, and exploration of sexual freedom. Boy-meets-girl and discover a new, uncertain world together.
Simply delicious...
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