IMDb RATING
7.8/10
36K
YOUR RATING
Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination
Sady Rebbot
- Raoul
- (as Saddy Rebbot)
André S. Labarthe
- Paul
- (as André Labarthe)
Guylaine Schlumberger
- Yvette
- (as G. Schlumberger)
Peter Kassovitz
- Jeune homme
- (as Peter Kassowitz)
Eric Schlumberger
- Luigi
- (as E. Schlumberger)
Henri Attal
- Arthur
- (as Henri Atal)
Mario Botti
- L'italien
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe whole movie script fit on one page, where the sequence of episodes was recorded. The text was not written in advance, and the actors said what was appropriate for the situation.
- GoofsWhen Raoul and Nana meet for the first time, Raoul leaves his notebook on the cafe table by mistake and Nana opens it. The camera changes to read over her shoulder, but the sound of gunshots startles her into closing the notebook. In the next shot, the notebook is nowhere to be seen, neither in her hands nor on the table.
- ConnectionsEdited into Bande-annonce de 'Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux' (1962)
Featured review
"Birds are creatures with an outside, and an inside. When you remove the outside, you see the inside. When you remove the inside, you see the soul." "Vivre Sa Vie" is an incredibly desultory film about a confused girl (Nana) with an existential crisis; namely, the task of reconciling her decision to become a prostitute with her belief in a free will. As the repercussions of the "painting" she has rendered gradually spiral out of control, Nana becomes progressively more alienated from and confused about her life. This culminates in a chilling scene in a diner, where she lays her soul bare before a well-meaning philosopher, who responds to her desperate queries about the gulf between words and emotions with more words. Erudite words that she cannot possibly understand.
Godard probes his favorite existential motifs with wonderful sensitivity here. When Miss Karina espouses her belief that a "plate is a plate" and a "life is a life", the overwhelming sadness in her eyes betrays the torment of a woman who feels torn from her self by circumstance. Nana turns to prostitution after breaking with her lover, failing to secure a spot in the movies, and being evicted from her flat. Watching her struggle to exact some control over a world that is clearly much bigger than her designs is emotionally draining.
As usual with Godard, the cinematography is lush and his cinema eye is constantly roving. Before Nana's first trick, the camera cuts from Karina's panicked eyes, to a bar of soap. It is a relatively simple, yet effective, symbol that defines a relatively simple, yet affecting film.
Godard probes his favorite existential motifs with wonderful sensitivity here. When Miss Karina espouses her belief that a "plate is a plate" and a "life is a life", the overwhelming sadness in her eyes betrays the torment of a woman who feels torn from her self by circumstance. Nana turns to prostitution after breaking with her lover, failing to secure a spot in the movies, and being evicted from her flat. Watching her struggle to exact some control over a world that is clearly much bigger than her designs is emotionally draining.
As usual with Godard, the cinematography is lush and his cinema eye is constantly roving. Before Nana's first trick, the camera cuts from Karina's panicked eyes, to a bar of soap. It is a relatively simple, yet effective, symbol that defines a relatively simple, yet affecting film.
- raintothesoundofpanic
- Mar 21, 2007
- Permalink
- How long is Vivre sa vie?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $64,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,517
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,336
- Jun 1, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $63,585
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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