Une femme est une femme Review

Bored housewife-cum-nightclub stripper Karina wants a baby, and when her dull newsagent partner won't oblige she turns to his best friend (Belmondo with, as always, a cigarette superglued between his teeth). Godard's first colour outing is a discourse on the nature of the sexes, displaying an exhausting array of techniques and New Wave hallmarks: dialogue straight to camera, cinema references (in this case, to his other films), characters bursting into song, and a script that is often utter twaddle. All of which — plus the homage to Hollywood musicals which doesn't quite work — combine to make this a curiously passionless and creaky piece of work, ultimately saved by Godard's two love affairs: with Paris and with his wife-to-be, Karina. Neither have ever looked more seductive.