Masculine-Feminine

Released Mar 22, 1966

1h 43m

Romance

List

96%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

86%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a young idealist trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, takes a job interviewing people for a marketing research firm. He moves in with aspiring pop singer Madeleine (Chantal Goya), and their affair often involves her two sexy roommates. Paul, however, is disillusioned by the growing commercialism in society, while Madeleine just wants to be successful. The story is told in a series of 15 unrelated vignettes.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Max

Stream Now

Max

Watch Masculine-Feminine with a subscription on Max.

Critics Consensus

A '60s time capsule stuffed with ideas about politics, pop culture, and the battle of the sexes, Masculine-Feminine is one of Godard's classic black-and-white films.

Read Critics Reviews

Pauline Kael

The New Republic

Using neither crime nor the romance of crime but a simple romance for a kind of interwoven story line, Godard has, at last, created the form he needed. It is a combination of essay, journalistic sketches, news and portraiture, love lyric and satire.

Aug 30, 2012

Full Review

Time Out

Its parodies and satires are recklessly inventive, and its fundamental pessimism isn't as flip as it may at first seem.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Terry Lawson

Detroit Free Press

May not have aged any better than Godard's other films of the period, but that doesn't mean Paul and company don't continue to ask questions and spout the opinions of the newly enlightened.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 14, 2005

Full Review

Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Godard takes another experimental view of his own movie, inserting documentary, outside sub-plots, and sudden intertitles that break the rules of storytelling, but because it’s Godard, we’re not surprised and is still very watchable.

Mar 6, 2023

Full Review

Sean Burns

Crooked Marquee

There’s the creeping sensation that this giddy, pop culture oversaturation is no longer sustainable, especially as these characters inch into adulthood.

Sep 17, 2022

Full Review

David Harris

Spectrum Culture

Though Léaud is a significant figure as an actor, he also represents something even more important: the portraits of two of the most important cinematic artists as young men.

Nov 16, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Andr d

Obra memorável. A trilha sonora, os personalidade e a trama são perfeitos, certamente um dos melhores filmes que já assisti. Godard acertou em cheio nessa obra fantástica.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/15/23

Full Review

Alexsander F

Filme fantástico, bem ao estilo Antonionni e com à assinatura inconfundível de Godard. Uma pitada policia bem sútil. Recomendo a todos que assistam à essa película.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/25/23

Full Review

Luca D

The acting seemed very sub par and the writing might as well have been written by knowitall college students trying to prove they know more about politics than you do. The women in the movie seem to be deemed uninterested in life and what goes on around them, compared to the male counterparts (making them less important??). Not really sure what the movie is trying to prove, but there were some introspective scenes about young love that kept me watching. Probably won't watch again.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/24/23

Full Review

elana k

I think I finally agree with Bergman. Goddard aint that great. Maybe I'm boring, maybe I just prefer form and a due respect for the time honoured tradition and craft of good storytelling.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Godard translates the confidences of a decade into a innovative, thought-provoking and chaotic manifesto of the 60's.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

William L

"Understand what you will" - Godard just throws down the gauntlet with a slap to the faces of the audience, but it's not necessarily a difficult premise - Masculin Féminin explores youth culture in France during the '60s as a smorgasbord of historical and cultural events, commercialism, cigarettes, and hormones. Léaud's Paul is a pseudo-intellectual who chases girls through cafes with an unimpressive string of opinions and tastes, quoting without understanding and often substituting emotional outbursts for sincerity or passion. Opposite him is Goya's Madeleine, the main target of Paul's affections, variously interested in the superficial, commercial, and herself, who variously snubs and encourages Paul's attempts to woo her as the situation demands; she is typically composed but seldom can be considered 'in-control'. Godard doesn't really necessarily take a stance condemning either for their faults, loves, or fears as he simply remarks on the environment that resulted in their current state, though their collective lack of substance or importance makes their existence a bit tragic in the face of larger cultural movements then underway, a stance that could easily resonate with a newer generation. One of the more accessible Godards, ably acted, interestingly shot and edited (even though his clear intentwas to demonstrate the Paul's impotence, the director can't help but make an urban, smoke-filled Parisian cafe look cool), Masculin Féminin still has plenty of relevance and empathy to provide. (4/5)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/02/21

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Jean-Luc Godard

Director

Chantal Goya

Madeleine

Jean-Pierre Léaud

Paul

Marlène Jobert

Elisabeth

Michel Debord

Actor

Catherine-Isabelle Duport

Actor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

75%

87%

A Man and a Woman

90%

86%

The Soft Skin

55%

87%

Sundays and Cybele

57%

76%

Elvira Madigan

79%

72%

Summer of '42

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Now Streaming: Difficult People, The Hurt Locker, The Skeleton Twins, and More

View more photos

Synopsis

Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a young idealist trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, takes a job interviewing people for a marketing research firm. He moves in with aspiring pop singer Madeleine (Chantal Goya), and their affair often involves her two sexy roommates. Paul, however, is disillusioned by the growing commercialism in society, while Madeleine just wants to be successful. The story is told in a series of 15 unrelated vignettes.

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Screenwriter: Guy de Maupassant, Jean-Luc Godard
Distributor: Rialto Pictures, Royal Films International
Production Co: Svensk Filmindustri (SF) AB, Sandrews, Anouchka Films, Argos Films
Genre: Romance
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 22, 1966, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 15, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $199.9K
Runtime: 1h 43m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.37:1)

Most Popular at Home Now