Masculin Féminin Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Masculin Féminin Blu-ray Movie Review

Men are from Marx, women are from Coca-Cola.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 24, 2021

We're living in an era when what some folks at least would call traditional ideas about what constitutes being "masculine" and/or "feminine" are obviously pretty seriously in flux, and in that regard, Jean-Luc Godard's 1966 opus Masculin Féminin may seem like even more of a "time capsule" than it would have already seemed due to its mid-sixties mix of typical Godardian elements like a deconstructionist presentational style and content that merges sociopolitical awareness with the vagaries of love and romance. The fact that the film bears the sobriquet 15 faits précis probably indicates as well as anything that Masculin Féminin is another vignette driven affair from Godard, and one which like several other pieces from the vaunted auteur probably resists being pigeonholed into a typical chronological narrative form. The underlying plot here revolves around aspiring writer Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud), the kind of armchair philosopher who might casually work in references to Communism and the struggle of the working class while he's unapologetically trying to make headway with a pretty singer named Madeleine Zimmer (Chantal Goya) he obviously has an eye for. If there's arguably even less of a traditional "story" than that which graced other Godard efforts like Breathless, there's a virtually palpable ambience suffusing the film that brings mid-sixties Paris to life in a rather viscerally thrilling way.

There are a number of salient comments about both Godard in general and Masculin Féminin in particular scattered throughout the supplements Criterion has aggregated for this release, but one of the more salient comes from a 2005 interview with star Chantal Goya, where things close with Goya's unapologetic statement, "You either love Godard or you hate Godard." I might amend that slightly to say there are those of us who can actually experience both reactions, if not simultaneously then within a reasonable amount of time of each other, when viewing any given Godard film, and that may be the case with regard to this film (the dialogue between critics Freddy Buache and Dominique Païni included on this disc as a supplement may suggest that some in either camp could end up changing their allegiances over the course of years). There's a very appealing naturalness to the proceedings, at least at times, and as always with Godard films, there's a veritable treasure trove of subtext for those wanting to spend time excavating it. But the disjunctive intertitles and Godard's typically fragmented narrative style may keep the film from really approaching the almost operatic emotions Godard seems to be aiming for, at least once things go for what Goya says was intentionally provocative gusto in the film's closing moments.

In terms of the narrative, it's kind of humorously salient to note a great anecdote shared by Jean-Pierre Gorin on a supplement included on this disc (see below). Godard was evidently booked to do some kind of appearance with Henri-Georges Clouzot, whom Gorin describes as "staid", and who stated at the event that he believed films should "have a beginning, middle and end". According to Gorin, Godard, without missing a beat, answered, "I agree completely that films should have a beginning, middle and end, just not necessarily in that order." To be fair, while there are both chronological and narrative gaps in the tale woven in Masculin Féminin, there is a through line to be discerned, though again due to Godard's stylistic proclivities it may be intentionally blurred. Just as an aside, this film's very opening vignette in a cafe perhaps not so coincidentally reminded me rather strongly of an early scene in Agnes Varda's Cléo from 5 to 7, where what appears to be a scene in a restaurant between two people suddenly encounters an abrupt change of perspective that suddenly involves others (to much more devastating if hyperbolic effect in this film).

It might be possible to view parts of this film as Godard's own take on an Odetsian dialectic between Art and Commerce, except once again Godard twists things around in unusual ways. In this case, the seeming advocate for "Art" would be Paul, who ends up reducing his writing ambitions to compiling other people's responses to poll questions, while the "Commerce" centered character might be Madeleine, who nonetheless is (seemingly successfully) pursuing a music career (in an intentional mirroring of what was happening to Goya in "real life" at the time). When the story finally takes a turn toward arguably more tawdry melodrama, it's another odd detour for a film which, kind of like what has happened to the terms "masculine" and "feminine", at least resists if not outright defies description.

Masculin Féminin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Masculin Féminin is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Criterion's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Masculin Féminin is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. This new 4K digital restoration was undertaken by Argos Films and approved by cinematographer Willy Kurant. A new digital transfer was created on an Arriscan film scanner from the 35 mm original camera negative at Eclair in Vanves, France.

The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35 mm fine grain master using Avid's Pro Tools and iZotope RX.

This is a really lustrous looking presentation that benefits from both well delineated contrast and a very nice and tightly resolved grain field. The organic aspects here are quite commendable and add to the almost verite like ambience, especially in some of the outdoor material. There are definitely some variances in clarity and detail levels, as Godard and Kurant seemed to do some (and perhaps a lot) of this "on the fly", and so certain scenes can be slightly washed out or even hazy. On the whole, though, fine detail on elements like Paul's richly textured tweed jacket is typically excellent. There is some noticeable flicker that can be discerned that whatever restoration gauntlet was employed hasn't been able to totally eliminate. Kind of ironically, I tended to notice it most on some scenes that feature Paul in his tweed suit jacket.

Masculin Féminin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Masculin Féminin features an LPCM Mono track in the original French. Godard utilized some of Goya's pop singles as well as a couple of other source cues, and all of the music sounds decently full bodied, if occasionally a little shallow. Both dialogue and voiceover are delivered without any issues whatsoever, and what appear to be "live" ambient environmental sounds in some of the outdoor locations register clearly as well. Optional English subtitles are available.

Masculin Féminin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Chantal Goya, 1966 (HD; 4:50) features Goya on the cusp of her international 1966 fame as both an actress and singer on the television show Au-delà de l'écran. This is not exactly in the same "naturalness" camp as Godard, but probably made some PR person very happy. In French with English subtitles.


• Chantal Goya, 2005 (HD; 15:10) is a really engaging piece with Goya, who recounts how she met Godard and was instantly cast in the film. She seems to have a kind of wry sense of humor about everything she's encountered in her career, and almost laughs at people who scoffed when she went from a Godard film to children's television offerings. In French with English subtitles.


• Willy Kurant (HD; 12:03) is an interesting interview with the famed cinematographer, produced by The Criterion Collection in 2004.


• Jean-Pierre Gorin (HD; 15:38) is another really interesting piece featuring Godard's collaborator on Jean-Luc Godard + Jean-Pierre Gorin: Five Films, 1968-1971, also available on Blu-ray from Criterion. This was produced by The Criterion Collection in 2005.


• Freddy Buache and Dominique Païni (HD; 24:58) is a really fun and often funny conversation from 2004 between the two critics, one of whom (Buache) wasn't exactly a fan of Godard back in the day, and the other (Païni) who was an ardent admirer of the New Wave titan. Buache's criticism famously invited a "response" from Godard called A Letter to Freddy Buache. In French with English subtitles.


• Jean-Luc Godard (HD; 4:08) is an intriguing short done for Swedish television capturing Godard filming the "film within the film" which supposedly parodies Ingmar Bergman. I have to say it's kind of interesting to hear Godard, certainly no fan of capitalism, overtly state the whole Swedish connection to this film was due to the fact that he had Swedish money coming in, for which he was duly appreciative. In Swedish and French with English subtitles, along with snippets in English.


• Trailers

  Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:02)

  
  

  Rialto Pictures 2005 Rerelease Trailer (HD; 1:53)

Additionally, Criterion provides their typically well appointed insert booklet, with essays, production information and a blurb about the transfer.

Masculin Féminin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If one were to ask for a document of the general zeitgeist of Parisian youth circa 1965-66, you probably couldn't ask for a better example than Masculin Féminin, though of course this is a select subset of a larger demographic chosen intentionally by Godard to offer what amounts to almost a Grimm's Fairy Tale of the monotony of everyday life contrasted with the vagaries of celebrity. As tends to be the case with Godard's films, there's a lot to think about even if Godard seems to be willfully attempting to short circuit the rational side of viewers' brains at times. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package very enjoyable. Highly recommended.