Two or Three Things I Know About Her… [2 ou 3 choses que je sais d’elle] *** (1967, Marina Vlady, Anny Duperey, Roger Montsoret) – Classic Movie Review 6064

Writer-director Jean-Luc Godard’s 1967 French movie is typical mid-period Godard, not from his top drawer and already just past his glorious prime.

Marina Vlady stars as a married Paris suburban wife Juliette, living with her husband Robert (Roger Montsoret), and stretching out her otherwise meagre cash supply with a side career as a hooker.

Full of annoyingly pretentious chit-chat and post-modern commentary by the auteur himself, with inevitable timely reflections on the Vietnam War, it is at some remove away from the most successful films of Godard’s early Sixties heyday in his best period from 1960 to 1965, such as Breathless, Alphaville, Vivre Sa Vie, Pierrot le Fou and Contempt.

However, on the plus side, there are some interesting reflections and revelations in the screenplay, cinematographer Raoul Coutard’s images make it still very palatable, and there is Beethoven’s music on the soundtrack. And of course Godard’s huge and enduring reputation and mystique make it essential viewing for cinéastes.

The ‘Her’ of the title is not Marina Vlady’s character but Paris, incidentally.

Also in the cast are Anny Duperey, Jean Narbonie, Christophe Bourseiller, Marie Bourseiller, Raoul Lévy (the film’s producer, playing John Bogus, the American), Yves Beneyton, Claude Miller and Juliet Berto. Godard provides the voice-over.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6064

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