Jean-Luc Godard: Masculin féminin, Part 2

A little more on Godard's Masculin féminin: 15 faits précis (1966). I watched the Criterion version, which includes additional material such as two interviews with Chantal Goya, who is probably right when she observes, "You either love Godard or you hate him."

(A third option on Godard: indifference. Personally, I find Godard's films difficult and challenging but also quite impressive and inspiring.)

Godard apparently enjoys dividing his films into titled sections. Here we have one that reverberates: "This film could be called 'The children of Marx and Coca-Cola.'"

At one point in Masculin féminin, Madeleine Zimmer (Goya) encounters a radio interviewer. "I noticed huge billboards along American highways saying 'Join the Pepsi Generation,'" he says. "Have you joined?"
Madeleine: "I adore Pepsi-Cola."

Interviewer: "Is that so?"

Madeleine: "Yes, it is."

In another section, Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud) asks, "Did you know there's an Iraqi-Kurd war on?"

And in another, he asks the winner of Miss 19 "Mademoiselle Age Tendre 1965" (Elsa Leroy), "Can you tell me where there are wars going on now?"

Miss 19: "Ah, no."

Paul: "No?"

Miss 19: "No. I thought about it, but I don't care."

Paul: "You don't know where there are wars going on?"

Miss 19: "No, no I don't."

From one of Chantal Goya's interview segments, we learn about a scene in which one of her hit singles comes in at Number 3: after Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones.

There's also an intense scene on the Métro de Paris involving sharp quips about Bessie Smith and Charlie Parker, and a gunshot. And eslewhere there's another specific date: November 25, 1965. Let's not forget more Vietnam War intrusions and a bistro scene with Brigitte Bardot, luminous even in black and white.

Today's Rune: Journey.