Masculin, Feminin

When heading out to see a movie with my friends, I am usually entertained by the faraway lands, the dramatic and fantastic fight scenes, or the unrealistic, but perfect love stories that unfold in front of me on the silver screen. Because of this traditional way of filming, I expect to view a movie like I would read a book, discovering another world but never feeling as if I am an active character in it.

This all changed when I saw Godard’s 1966 film, Masculin, Feminin. Godard took many risks and broke away from the traditional filming method in this movie. This film, unlike others, made me feel as though I was another character, a silent contributor, moving through the movie along with the actors. The angles and viewpoints gave me the sensation that I, as the camera, was peering into rooms where I could overhear the conversations between Paul and Madeline.

I began to feel like this whenever the camera filmed only one character at a time in an interview style, where the person who was speaking was off camera,. The first scene in which this occurred was when Paul followed Madeline into the bathroom. Paul was questioning Madeline about politics, herself, and her interests in him. Because of this documentary feel, I could place myself into the movie and experience their conversations as a friend and observer, seeing their, otherwise, hidden emotions. I watched as Madeline did her makeup and hair, ignoring some of Paul’s questions, becoming embarrassed by the more personal ones, and slyly lying to him about others. The camera then switched to Paul as Madeline spoke and showed that he looked weak and unconfident around her.

These images are usually out of sight in other movies since those films focus more on the person speaking and not on their reactions as they listen to others. In doing this, Godard shows that film should be focused on letting the viewers become immersed into the story and listen in as another character would, not viewing the movie from an outsider’s perspective. I was able to feel like I was walking around in the film because the camera became my eyes, letting me stare into the lives of these characters.

Godard also created many moments throughout the film where the characters and other people looked directly into the camera lens. Godard did this intentionally in order to let the audience believe that they were in the middle of moments that were supposed to be private among the characters.

Because of this new technique of turning the viewer into an “active” character, Godard centered the film around the viewpoint of the audience. Maybe other films of today will begin using this approach to filmmaking to engage the audience more and break away from tradition.