MOVIE REVIEW : Godard’s New-Wave ‘Woman’ Makes Love, French Style

Jean-Luc Godard forged his reputation as one of the firebrands of the French New Wave by keeping faith with his eccentric impulses. With such movies as “Breathless” and “Masculine/Feminine,” Godard combined unusual storytelling with original technique, his contribution to the global cinematic experimentation that marked the ‘60s.

His stylized non-stylishness hasn’t been to everybody’s liking; Godard’s commitment to nonconformity can be infuriatingly personal, almost to the point of self-indulgence. But his refusal to compromise gives his pictures an unmistakable look that only an individualist’s vision can create.

Orange County film fans haven’t had many opportunities to see his movies; few are on video, and they rarely get revived in local art houses or campuses. But tonight, UC Irvine offers “A Woman Is a Woman” as part of its “Love and Madness” series.

There are better, more important Godard works, but the 1960 film is still worth your time. “A Woman Is a Woman,” his third picture, tells the story of a stripper, Angela (Anna Karina, Godard’s wife at the time), who wants to have a baby. When her boyfriend, Emile (Jean-Claude Brialy), refuses, she ask their best friend, Alfred (Jean-Paul Belmondo), to be the father.

This comic love triangle gets turned on all sides as Godard opts for a lighthearted, whimsical gaze at the giddy vagaries of romance. Unlike many of his movies, there’s nothing edgy here. Instead, the tone is ticklish, especially when Karina does her thing. When the film came out, a critic wrote that Karina and her co-stars looked like children placed in front of the camera and told to play. Godard is searching for a blithe naturalism, something he accomplishes through his cast’s appealingly unpolished performances.

Godard also creates mood through technique. He adds to the film’s avant-garde sway by having the actors talk to the camera at times. At one point, a mildly confused Brialy turns to the audience to have fun with the movie’s disjointedness and Godard’s awareness of his status as one of the hot filmmakers of his generation.

“I don’t know whether this is a comedy or a tragedy,” Brialy says, staring right into the lens, “but it is a masterpiece!”

* Jean-Luc Godard’s “A Woman Is a Woman” screens tonight at 7 and 9 in the Crystal Cove Auditorium at the UC Irvine Student Center, Campus Drive and Bridge Road, Irvine. $2 to $4. (714) 856-6379.