A Woman Is a Woman (1961)

Written by CinemaSerf on March 14, 2024

Anna Karina is good in this quite entertainingly daft romantic caper. She is exotic dancer "Angela", happily living with "Émile" (Jean-Claude Brialy) but there's one big snag - she wants to start a family whilst he would sooner just ride his bike. "Émile" is nothing if not considerate, though, so suggests that maybe she do the deed with his best pal "Alfred" (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and that way everyone is happy. It's fair to say that he hasn't exactly discussed this scenario with his friend at the time of suggestion, either! Anyway, for the next hour or so, Jean-Luc Godard takes us on quite a merry dance that at times is a little "Carry-On" in style. Aided by a jolly and mischievous score from Michel Legrand, we soon find ourselves amidst a trio where misunderstandings, jealousy and lots of Charles Aznavour start to feature prominently. It's not exactly hilarious, this - but there's lots going on between the three characters and (even translated) the dialogue is quite refreshingly candid about matters of the heart - there's precious little sentiment for us to get bogged down with here. I'm also sure that I spotted Jeanne Moreau supping a Dubonnet in a bar here, and that's never a bad thing either. It's maybe not a film that's so memorable, but for ninety minutes it certainly entertains amiably enough.