It was 1962 and Jean-Luc Godard and wife, Anna Karina have worked on two films together “Le petit Soldat” (created in 1960 but released in 1963 due to the film being banned) and the 1961 film “Une femme est une femme” (A Woman is a Woman). By that time, both Godard and Karina’s marriage life became a public spectacle especially rumors that their marriage was on the rocks.
Despite their rocky personal life, Godard’s goal was to make Karina a serious actress and in 1962, he began working on his screen adaptation of “Vivre sa vie” (My Life to Love) which utilizes the studies of prostitution from “Où en est la prostitution” by Marcel Sacotte. But Godard would have his most challenging directorial experience at the time when funding for the film was turned down and the budget for the film was 400,000 francs, less that “Breathless” and it would be the first film in which Godard would be co-producer (putting half of his money towards the film) alongside producer Pierre Braunberger.
“Vivre sa vie” would create the film in 13 sequences, Godard called it “tableaux vivants” (live paintings) which was inspired by the 1931 film “The Threepenny Opera” (directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst) and the film was shown at the Venice Film Festival in which the film received boos from the audience (because it was unlike his other films) and even received some critical pans by a few critics but the film would go on to receive the Critics’ Prize and the Special Jury Prize and those same critics that panned the film earlier, some would go back and watch it again and at this point, many proclaimed the film as Godard’s masterpiece, even receiving praise from director/friend (at the time) Francois Truffaut and would be the first film for Godard to end the year in Cahiers du Cinema best ten list for that year.
“Vivre sa vie” is a film that focuses on Nana Kleinfrankenheim (played by Anna Karina), a young woman who left her child and husband to go off and become an actress. Unfortunately, life as an actress is not going so well as Nana is low on money, constantly borrowing money, late on her rent and having to request an advance from her job at a record store.
But after being arrested for taking money from a woman who dropped it, the problem Anna faces is a life without a home and no money. So, she turns to prostitution. We see how she’s uncomfortable about being a prostitute but she knows she has no other choice.
Wanting to make more money, a pimp named Raoul offers her a way out of her current job and way to become a prostitute but in better areas of the city and have more clientele. We then see how Nana has changed from an amateur to a professional. But she does receive a stern warning from her pimp, “do not refuse a customer”.
But what will happen to Nana when she meets a man she cares about and wants a change in her life?
For any Godardite, let alone the Anna Karina fans not enjoy “Vivre sa vie”. I felt that the journey Godard has taken the viewers for the character Nana and her descent into prostitution was well done, there is no sugar coating the whole lifestyle of these women. As Karina may be a woman who tries to maintain her soul despite being a prostitute, the only ending that I can foresee for this character was a tragic ending. This was evident to me right when I saw the “Joan of Arc” film and Nana’s face as she tearfully wept as Joan is to be put to death.
No sugar coating, no happy ending, no “Pretty Woman” type of ending, it is what it is.
“Vivre sa vie” was a film that was a unique experience, especially having watched many of Godard’s films and also having read about the personal turmoil that was going on behind-the-scenes with his marriage to his muse Anna Karina.
I look at “Vivre sa vie” as Godard trying to maintain his composure as a director and the audience, trying to make amends with his wife, Francois Truffaut, explain differences between “Vivre sa vie” and why “A Woman is a Woman” did not work but we also saw at the same time, the film alienating some Godardites and even upsetting his former friend/director Jean-Pierre Melville.
But as “Breathless” is seen as the flame that sparked the French New Wave and intellectual films, “Vivre sa vie” influenced cinema with lengthy dialogue which would become used by fellow directors and many young directors who were influenced by the film. From the opening sequence of Nana and her husband, the camera shot is from behind, Godard wanted no distractions by showing the character’s faces from the front but by the back. The use of the tableux sequences and as mentioned, the dialogue sequences. Where Rohmer made things much more intellectual in “My Night at Maud’s”, I can easily see why people criticized “Vivre sa vie” at first because of the dialogue was not as intellectual as they hoped for it to be.
Interesting to note, an interview is included in the book insert of how Godard wanted many people to understand his film (something that he would eventually get away from a few years later) and although Godard does read a passage from Edgar Allen Poe’s book at the end of the film, the book that had any significance was “Ou en est la prostitution” by Marcel Sacotte. The tricks of the trade in which Nana and her new pimp Raoul begin discussing and a way for Nana to make even more money.
But as the film does feature lengthy dialogue, not all were impressed, including one of Godard’s earliest supporters Jean-Pierre Melville who was very critical towards him. In fact, it was one of the major reasons that Godard and director Melville ended their friendship as according to Melville’s wife Florence who recalled her husband telling Godard “You are making a lazy man’s cinema, this is no longer deserves the name of cinema, you put down the camera and you have people talk, nothing more. For me, this isn’t cinema”. (p. 141, “Everything is Cinema”, Richard Brody) and in response Godard said, “There can no longer be a friendship between us, if one doesn’t like one’s friend’s film, no one can longer be his friend.”
But Godard received a good review from another earlier supporter, director Francois Truffaut who wrote “There are films one can admire and yet that do not invite you to follow…why pursue it? These are not the best films. The best films open doors, they support our impression that cinema begins and begins again with them. ‘Vivre sa vie’ is one of those.” (p. 319, “The Films In My Life”, Francois Truffaut)
So, the film received its boos but many people came around to declare the film as a Godard masterpiece. But one thing I have always wondered was if there was an alternate ending to this classic Godard film. If Godard had actually thought about another type of ending and the more I researched, I’ve read that Godard and Karina had a lengthy argument on how the film was supposed to end. Karina opposed the ending of the film and according to several books, because of the ending Godard chose, which went against his wife’s wishes, it was the beginning of the breakup of their marriage (and another unfortunate incident involving Karina).
So, I’ve always found “Vivre sa vie” to be a unique Godard experience. From Coutard’s cinematography, Godard’s use of the tableaux, Antonioni-like sequenes and the recording of the sound and ambiance from the actual filming and as much as I call this a Godard masterpiece, I’ve felt that Anna Karina was absolutely dashing in this film. A role that gave the actress the depth she needed to showcase her emotional side and also her flirtatious side, needless to say, this is a film where Karina shined.
The Blu-ray release of “Vivre sa vie” is done quite well. Not only do you get an informative commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin but the interview with film scholar Jean Narboni is also well-done and informative. The other features are like icing on the cake, especially the hilarious interview with Anna Karina who is surprised by the questions asked by the interviewer and the 42-page booklet is a major plus.
Overall, “Vivre sa vie” is a release that many Godard fans have been waiting for (now all we need is “Week End”) and the fact that The Criterion Collection also chose this film for Blu-ray release is fantastic. Although “Vivre sa vie” is not my favorite Godard film (which still goes to “Pierrot le fou”), “Vivre sa vie” is still a Godard masterpiece that is worth having in your cinema collection.
Definitely recommended!
