Une femme mariée (1964)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

Film Review

Originally titled La Femme mariée, this controversial film from one of the leading lights of the French New Wave was banned by the censor for its sexually explicit scenes.  The film was released a few months after its ban, with a few cuts and retitled Une femme mariée, and proved surprisingly successful, no doubt benefiting from the brouhaha caused by the censor.

The film's director, Jean-Luc Godard, regarded it as a sociological document and it is a daring work for its time, broaching sexual taboos and offering a refreshingly candid portrayal of marital infidelity.  With its chaotic episodic structure and bizarre composition of shots (most of which consist of close-ups of the lead actress), the film exemplifies Godard's shift from the asthetics of conventional filmmaking towards the more free-format, individualistic approach of his later films.

Film Synopsis

Married to Pierre, an airline pilot, Charlotte leads a settled middle-class existence and couldn't be happier.  She has a son she adores, Nicolas, and has plenty to occupy her.  And yet the long periods of separation from her husband when he is away flying all over the world are beginning to put a strain on the marriage.  Charlotte's growing dissatisfaction with Pierre has led her to find herself a lover, in the form of Robert, an actor.  Now she is torn between the two men she has fond feelings for - the husband she has sworn to love for the rest of her life, and the lover who offers her consolation and companionship, as well as love.

Charlotte feels that the time is fast approaching when she will have to choose between the two men.  The present situation cannot continue.  A day that will prove to be of great significance begins with Charlotte going to meet her husband at the airport with her son.  It is as happy a reunion as you might expect and Pierre is glad to introduce to his wife a man he met on his last trip, Roger Leenhardt, a humanist interested in the Holocaust.  The latter is invited back to the couple's home and the three people spend an agreeable few hours conversing on such subjects as the importance of memory.

In the afternoon, Charlotte follows up an excursion to the local swimming baths with a visit to her doctor, who informs her that she is three months pregnant.  This comes as a shock to the young wife, who cannot decide who the father of the unborn child is.  She is still ruminating on this when she goes to meet up with Robert in a cinema.  When her lover reveals he has to go away for a few days, Charlotte agrees to accompany him to a hotel room.  Here, they talk for a while about their usual subjects - love and the theatre - before parting.  Charlotte is left alone with her thoughts, still uncertain which direction her future should take...