MovieChat Forums > Une femme est une femme (1961) Discussion > The Ending -- AH!

The Ending -- AH!

posted 17 years ago by LiveForever00
9 replies | jump to latest

This movie walked the line between a comedy and a tragedy. The reviews said Angela took up with Belmondo, but in reality, it was a one night thing at the very end. Most of the movie was very ligth hearted and I hated how they brushed aside the disgusting behavior at the end.

Belmondo is supposed to be this guy's best friend- what a lousy best friend to be constantly hitting on his girlfriend!

Finally, the couple survives until the very last second when Angela impulsively sleeps with Belmondo, ironically the night her bf relents and wants to have a baby. If she truly loved him, why did she behave in such a twisted manner, and how could he shrug it off and sleep with her right after his friend did? The film comments that the foolish behavior starts because they love each other - this is no sign of love! What is the poor baby going to hear: your mom slept with both of us in the same night so we don't know who's your father. No biggie.

please comment on your thoughts on the ending and Godard's portrayal of women.

[–] King-Turtle 17 years ago

You seem to forget that Emile was having sex with a prostitute while Angela was sleeping with Belmondo. Furthermore, Emile had been with other women. Belmondo showed Angela a picture to prove it. People do strange things when they are unhappy. The narration describes it concisely: Emile "is so unhappy that he does not give a damn." Or listen closely to the lyrics of the Charles Aznavour that plays in the jukebox. These are people who are treating each other awfully.

You should watch the movie a few more times, and follow the dialog closely, including the dialogs they have with the book titles.

The character of Angela is a fully human character. She is strong, vulnerable, independent, needy, inconsistent, charming, trapped, and selfish. Just like all of us.

[–] muggin15 17 years ago

YES! I agree 100%. Thats why I love this "love story" more than the crap hollywood feeds us now. Most modern love stories aren't accurate or true to life because all the characters and so sappy and over the top. No one acts like that in real life! Just like in this movie, people make mistakes and do foolish things when they are in love. That is why it is such a good film. Most women in modern movies have only 1 dimension, which is why I never can identify with women in love stories and I can't stand to watch them. Angela has many different dimensions and layers just like most women do. She changes her mood constantly and is hard to read and understand, just like real women, and Godard does a wonderful job showing those qualities of a woman that imdb-3495 talks about, vulnerability, independence, charm, inconsistency, and selfishness. Not that ALL women hold all of these qualities, but they certainly hold more than 1 like most modern love stories show.

[–] Truman_Galapagos 14 years ago

Because people in real life act like the people in this movie, come on!
Godard's character are far from being human, there is so much style in this movie that you can't find anything human, expect some sketches. Angela doesn't have many dimensions, her character is just playing forced jokes without any meaning, like the script of a movie. Her character changes her mind like a lunatic for the sake of comedy.
You want to know a multidimensional woman?
Go watch Fellini's Cabiria.

[–] yohan_euan_o4 14 years ago

I agree with most of what's been said above. Angela is torn between two primary motivations, though: to be a mother and to be monogamous. Theirein lies the explanation for why she behaved in a "twisted manner", sleeping with Belmondo and then going back to Emile. She loves Emile so much that she reverses the line Belmondo used on her (something along the lines of, "Even if you didn't love me, I would love you"). She tells Belmondo early on she will not go off with him because he is not as intelligent or witty as Emile; but she will sleep with him, or is open to the suggestion of sleeping with him, to have a baby. She is a multifacted, complex character, and the point is that in life, one's subjective Desire will not find itself automatically embodied in another subject. Although a reverse interpretation, that she is completely unsubtle, is also possible - "A Woman Is a Woman", and expects to be able to have a monogamous relationship in which her partner will father a child (and her other desires - to be desired by other men, to cry freely - isn't this really quite a conservative depiction of women?). If she does not attain this, she'll go to somewhat absurd lengths.

As for Belmondo attempting to hit on his best friend, I think this a play on conventional formulas. They share a lot in common - both love Angela, both are often perplexed by her, and so on. They share similar desires, so they don't oppose one another - even though Angela only wants a baby from Belmondo, he too is deeply enamoured by her. Emile states that "Guys can do strange things too." During an early scene in the kitchen, Angela states that subsequent events will be a farce, but it's worth questioning whether this even is - need there be friction between the two when they're really quite alike? There needn't be some epic battle to win her desire.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] elif84-1 17 years ago

don't mistake sleeping around for a lack of love. that's a very conservative and frighteningly archaic notion of what love is/ought/should/can be. also, don't forget that we are talking about women, in france, in the early 60s. there are a lot of gestures of independence and strength exhibited by karina's action, not necessarily infidelity and absent love.

[–] creaturefeeture 14 years ago

They're French.

Voting History: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=26598711

[–] atlantajoseph 14 years ago

LOL @warpaint!!

[–] RaymondRoman 13 years ago

Hahahahaha @warpaint has the best answer here: "They're French.", PERFECT!

In response to your comments on the ending "If she truly loved him, why did she behave in such a twisted manner, and how could he shrug it off and sleep with her right after his friend did?", I kind of felt the ending may have been open for interpretation. Angela's character doesn't seem to know what she wants, besides a baby. Many times throughout the film she replies to multiple questions with the same answer, so when it came down to the end I didn't know if I believed her or not. Emile doesn't know if he should believe her or not, this is why he now wants to have a baby. She could have been lying to Emile in order to get him to want to have a baby with her. That's just one observation, she could have slept with Alfred but what if she's not on one of her "day's of conception"? and if that's the case, maybe she won't get pregnant from either of them.

In the film there's text that comes up and says, "because they love each other everything will go wrong for Emile and Angela. They mistakenly think they can cross the limits due to the underlying love." This could be foreshadowing of what's to come, what we eventually find out in the end, that she sleeps with Alfred.

Again, I think the film is open to interpretation. We don't know who's baby she will have. We don't know if she will have a baby. All we know is that A Woman Is a Woman!