Vivre Sa Vie / My Life to Live
Instructions for Assignment:
This assignment allows you a degree of flexibility. Choose one of the following films, and write an analytical essay on the film you have selected. You are to treat the film under consideration as a representative example of the type of film specified. The assignment is designed to indicate both your understanding of the category (be it classical cinema or art cinema), including the attendant formal features, and how an individual film embodies those features. Besides articulating what the category entails in terms of style, narrative structure, distinctive narrational strategies, ideological positions, etc., your essay should use close textual analysis to demonstrate how form can be linked to the objectives of this category. Your paper must have a stated thesis which guides the analysis you pursue, and at least two specific sequences from the film should be employed as examples to bolster your argument. Use this paper to draw together the materials you have been exposed to and demonstrate your command of the critical tools you have acquired. Ideally, your essay should provide a precise and persuasive analysis of a specific type of film practice and demonstrate how analysis illuminates our understanding of the film in question.
Sullivan’s Travels (U.S.A., 1942; director: Preston Sturges; 90 minutes, classical cinema)
The Lady From Shanghai (U.S.A., 1948; director: Orson Welles; 87 minutes, classical cinema)
The Third Man (U.K., 1949; director: Carol Reed; 108 minutes, classical cinema)
Smultronstallet / Wild Strawberries (Sweden, 1957; 91 mins.; director: Ingmar Bergman; art cinema)
Vivre sa vie / My Life to Live (France, 1963; director: Jean-Luc Godard; 85 minutes, art cinema)
L’Avventura / The Adventure (Italy, 1960; 143 mins.; director: Michelangelo Antonioni; art cinema
1. The manner of submission requires the assignment must be typed and double-spaced with reasonable margins, and should be between 6-7 pages, excluding any appendices (i.e., a segmentation and/or film stills). Submit a title page with your name, student number, course name and number, included. Do not type your name on any other page of the document (i.e., page header), as the work is meant to be marked “blind” to the author’s identity. This ensures the essay’s argument, and not the individual student, is marked. Including a concise one-page segmentation of the film’s narrative as an appendix to your essay will earn a bonus mark of 1%.
Vivre Sa Vie / My Life to Live
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Vivre Sa Vie / My Life to Live
Introduction
Vivre sa vie / My Life to Live (France, 1963; director: Jean-Luc Godard; art cinema) is a French New Wave film that follows the life of Nana, a young Parisian woman who decides to abandon her husband and child to pursue her dream of becoming an actress (Baetens et al., 2019). She is struggling to make her way in life. It is an iconic film about life and its struggles, directed by one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema (Jean-Luc Godard). The film was released in 1963 and has since been regarded as a classic in the genre of art cinema (Turim, 2014). Its narrative structure and style, themes, motifs, and symbolism, costume design and acting, dialogue, and score, sets and locations, cinematography, the director's use of narrative devices, strategies, ideological positions, and visual effects and editing all contribute to its success in providing an authentic and powerful experience for viewers.
Narrative Structure and Style
The narrative structure and style of Vivre sa vie / My Life to Live is unique in its use of non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, and dream sequences. The film is divided into twelve chapters, each with its title and theme (Kozłowska, 2012). A quote introduces each chapter from a philosopher or author, and the story is told in a documentary style featuring interviews with Nana's friends and coworkers. The use of interviews and non-diegetic narration allows for a more subjective view of the story and a greater sense of realism (Woodley, 2000). This approach to the narrative structure allows the audience to gain insight into the experiences of Nana in each chapter and provides a greater understanding of the film's overall themes. This storytelling style allows greater exploration of the film's motifs and symbolism.
The Film's Themes, Motifs, and Symbolism
The film's central motif is that of the spinning record, which appears at the beginning and is a recurring theme. This motif symbolizes the nature of Nana's life and how it is caught in a perpetual cycle of repetition – from her husband to her prostitution and back to her husband again. The spinning record is a metaphor for Nana's choices and how her decisions ultimately lead her to self-destruction. The film also explores the theme of freedom and independence (MATHEWS, 2006). Nana desires to be free of the confines of her bourgeois lifestyle, and in her search for freedom, she makes decisions that ultimately lead her to a life of prostitution. She is also willing to take risks and make unconventional and often dangerous choices, such as when she steals money from her husband to fund her lifestyle. The film also examines the consequences of living outside the boundaries of respectability and morality (Kozłowska, 2012). While Nana can pursue her desires, her choices lead her to misery and suffering. Her journey is a cautionary tale of what can happen when one ignores the rules of society and follows her path.
The Director's Use of Narrative Devices, Strategies, and Ideological Positions
To begin, Godard uses a documentary aesthetic to tell Nana's story. He employs a mixture of long takes and quick cuts, allowing the viewer to take in the characters and the settings in detail while simultaneously providing a sense of immediacy. By shooting in real locations and avoiding studio sets, Godard highlights the harsh reality of Nana's life and conveys her vulnerability in a stark and poetic way (Turim, 2014). Godard also employs a variety of narrative devices to move the story along, including voice-overs, flashbacks, and intertitles. The voice-over, in particular, is used significantly, allowing the audience to get inside Nana's head and access her innermost thoughts and feelings. Through her monologues, we can gain insight into her motivations and inner turmoil, essential for understanding her character.
In addition to the narrative devices, Godard employs several strategies to further his critique of traditional narrative forms. He utilizes long takes, which allow the viewer to take in the entire scene, and quick cuts, creating disorientation and tension. He also uses jump cuts, which disrupt the linear flow of the narrative, and freeze frames, which emphasize vital moments. Godard uses various techniques to create a sense of unease and discomfort, furthering his intent to challenge the traditional narrative form (Turim, 2014).
Godard's ideological positions are evident throughout the film. He is highly critical of the commodification of sex and the exploitation of women in the sex industry. He uses the film to draw attention to the harsh realities of life in the underworld of Paris (Kozłowska, 2012). He also aims at bourgeois morality and the disconnect between the rich's and poor's lives. By presenting these themes visually strikingly, Godard can demonstrate the power of art cinema to convey complex messages and challenge traditional forms of storytelling.
Costume Design and Acting
The film's costume design is crucial to developing the characters and the film's themes. Nana's costumes are particularly noteworthy, as her wardrobe evolves and changes throughout the film to reflect her journey. In the opening scenes, Nana wears simple, e...