Masculin Féminin: 15 faits précis
Masculin féminin (1966) was written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard. It’s the story of French youth culture during the 1960′s, The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola. We follow 21 year old Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud), an idealistic socialist, as he becomes romantically involved with Madeline (Chantal Goya), a pop singer in the film and in real life. Listen to the film’s title track.
Beyond the plot lies a subtext that I found intriguing and strangely relatable. Maybe it’s because I remember putting together the sober realization that everyday life is banal for the most part. Godard captures this spot on. The characters are not easily defined throughout most of the film. They don’t pass judgment like most film characters do which frustrates contemporary audiences because they don’t know what messages they’re being told to watch. They’re just being, doing, thinking.
Our pop culture has been trimmed down to bite sized pieces, ahem, twitter and facebook updates. We look for guidance through these bits of information. I love Masculin Féminin because it doesn’t guide you or tell you who to judge and how to live. It warns of the birth of the coca-cola generation and patiently reveals a tragedy of modern youth.
