Vivre sa Vie (1962): This Woman's Work.

—by I Love Hot Dogs / Tuesday, September 7, 2010

I think you already know a few things that I am going to say about this film. 1.) That Anna Karina is lovely and amazing and 2.) That Jean-Luc Godard and cinematographer Raoul Coutard are brilliant. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way let’s talk about a few other reasons why Vivre sa Vie is one of Godard’s most inspired films.

Vivre sa Vie is a story told it twelve acts. It focuses on Nana (Anna Karina), a down on her luck woman who’s misfortune and lack of opportunity lead her into a life of prostitution. I am 900% positive there are at least a hundred Lifetime movies with this premise; but Godard tackles the subject matter with care by adopting some visual elements of cinéma vérité. He adds a touch of his trademark sense of humor through titling and quirky camerawork. In quite a few scenes (including those with lots of dialogue) we only see the back of our subject’s heads which is as clever as it is odd.

There are no graphic scenes of Nana and her John’s, we see only small vignettes of her utter discomfort and money exchanging hands which is just as effective. This film brings to mind the tragic story of Lulu (Louise Brooks) in Pandora’s Box. Another woman who cannot control her fate. Vivre sa Vie is yet another example of why Godard and Anna Karina are some sort of dream team to rival Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The loving compositions of Karina in this film are incredible. If only every film could be this beautiful.