Vivre sa vie tells the story of Nana, played by Anna Karina (Godard’s wife at the time), in twelve scenes. In the first section we see the back of her head as he sits in a cafe talking to a man named Paul. We learn that he is her husband, that she has left him, and that she has plans to become an actress. However, later on, after watching Dreyer’s La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928) at the cinema, she decides to become a prostitute.As soon as the opening credits begin, showing Anna Karenina’s face in profile, I am absorbed for the whole duration of the 80 minutes. Karina’s face is wonderful to look at but it is with the camera and Godard, with cinematographer Raoul Coutard by his side, that this film becomes so great. Only Godard could make a shot of the back of someone’s head so exciting, so fascinating, so absorbing, so rhythmical. At times in the film, the camera starts to pan but then glances back again. My favourite scene is the second of the twelve: in the record shop where Nana works, the camera, in one long-take, pans back and forth with a rhythmic grace, then turns and looks out the window at the streets of Paris. These simple moments are somehow imbued with a magical power. The film is beautiful, clear, and immensely powerful.
I have often preferred Godard’s colour films and found his black-and-white work, such as Alphaville (1965), dull when compared to the bright, vivid beauty of the primary colours in Le Mépris (1963) or Weekend (1967), for instance. However, in this film the black and white photography of Paris and of Anna Karenina’s face is immensely beautiful and this is definitely one of my favourite Godard films.
