Title: Vivre Sa Vie
Year: 1962
Director: Jean Luc Godard
Country: France
Language: French
Two years after Breathless, Jean Luc Godard's debut feature that would cement his status as an auteur in the French New Wave movement, Godard would release the innovative Vivre Sa Vie. The film is an engaging character study, exploring existentialism and the desire to exist apart from societal norms.
Vivre Sa Vie is split into twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman named Nana (Anna Karina) and her slow descent into prostitution.
Godard's third feature film is unflinching in its honesty; a heartfelt film that uses its cinematography, shots that are primarily close-ups of Nana's face, to create a beautiful portrait of a woman searching for meaning. Vivre Sa Vie is a French New Wave film in the way it defies convention; using a non-linear narrative, experimenting with sound, shooting sequences in peculiar ways.
Vivre Sa Vie is very clearly inspired by cinema of the past in a way that almost breaks the fourth wall. Nana's hairstyle is straight from Pandora's Box. Later, Nana misses a screening of Jules and Jim; a film about an woman who finds her happiness. There is also a scene where Nana watches Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc. Throughout Vivre Sa Vie we get a sense that these two women's stories are connected.
I've never seen a Godard film prior to Vivre Sa Vie. I am quite impressed by this, so I will watch the rest of his films. Anna Karina is a lovely actress; she plays her role of Nana perfectly. This picture is a must-see.
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