In the late 50's through the late 60's a film movement occurred in France. New Wave Cinema deviated from the Classic Hollywood formula in both narrative and techniques during the era. New Wave Film is an important historical period for film making in understanding the progression and change of the medium itself. New Wave Film encompasses stronger political viewpoints as well as break typical cinematic standards of the era, which are, ironically commonplace in today's film landscape. Techniques such as jump cuts, long takes and fragmented shots were considered radical changes to film form and reflective of the authorship of the era. At the forefront of the new, young movement; Jean-Luc Godard.
Vivre Sa Vie stars Anna Karina, Godard's wife at the time, as Nana. The story revolves around her dream to become an actress and her arrival to prostitution, divided between 12 chapters. Nana's struggle to become an actress is a direct consequence of her attempt to live her life. Through Anna, the audience understands that the consequences of our lives are that of our own, for better or for worse. In this case, worse. Possibly one of the most underrated, iconic scenes in all of cinema occurs when Nana begins her prostitution career and a montage of scenes occur of her work, as dialogue is being spoken in the background of her duties as a prostitute. The is one of the first instances of a montage produced on screen and still one of the best.
As I mentioned earlier, Anna at the time was Godard's wife. This is particularly important because the parallels between the character and Anna depict the surrealism in Vivre. The name 'Nana' is an anagram for Anna. As a director, Godard knew how to capture Anna on film, almost through the same eye as he was in love with her with. This provides a crucial service to the film, as Nana solely pushes the film forward. As an audience we can identify with Nana as a character because she is attempting to just live her life. The struggles she encounters are ones many have experienced and this relationship between us, as an audience and Nana is further perceived through the manner Godard directed the film. The film is not setup sequentially but through chapters. Scenes occur and nothing in the film is inferred, we see things as they happen to Nana.
I have seen many of Godard's films and Vivre is one of his best. Many of his films are abstract and could be considered art film. It's also important to note that there are a number of methods to dissect his films, especially Vivre. Vivre changes the passive experience of watching films and almost demands the audience to play an active role. Godard and New Wave Films pushed the boundaries of film making and turned the repetitiveness and formulaic style of films into something fresh and exciting.
