Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Boring

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Shot back-to-back with Made in U.S.A. (his farewell to ex-wife Anna Karina), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is one of Jean-Luc Godard most visually arresting, insightful and personal films. Inspired by an article in Le Nouvel Observateur about housewives prostituting themselves in Paris to fund their consumerist lifestyles, Godard uses this as the foundation to explore many other themes throughout the film, tackling everything from philosophy, politics, the ongoing Vietnam War, sexuality and, probably most important of all, France itself (the 'Her' of the title).There is little plot to the film, and instead Godard uses every film-making technique in his arsenal to take the audience on a journey through the Paris suburbs, having his characters delve into rambling monologues, often responding to questions or regurgitating lines fed through an ear-piece by Godard himself. The main focus is Juliette (Marina Vlady), who occasionally prostitutes herself so she can buy pretty clothes or perhaps just to relieve herself of the boredom of the consumerist lifestyle, while her husband Robert (Roger Monsoret) listens to speeches on the radio regarding America's involvement in Vietnam.It's with his over-simplified characterisation of Juliette that 2 or 3 Things fails to hit the mark. She is beautiful and intelligent, but seems to only truly love shopping or catching the eye of a handsome man in a cafe. There's little of the free-spirited charisma that Karina embodied in her various roles under Godard, but perhaps that's the point. Themes are often explored with a remarkable lack of subtlety, with the director's obvious opposition to the illegal war in Vietnam cropping up many times throughout the film, with photographs of victims of the war spliced into a rather silly scene involving an 'American' photographer (with a heavy French accent) and his odd fetish with placing bags over ladies heads and having them act out a routine.Far more impressive are the visuals, with the celebrated shot of a swirling espresso while Godard whispers about his own inadequacy being the most memorable image, and the sheer ambition of a project shot so quickly. Godard is both criticised and adorned for being simply too intellectual and obtuse for film, and 2 or 3 Things is one of the greatest examples of his unwillingness to craft a digestible film for his select audience. The dialogue is often wonderful and poetic, yet sometimes it's rambling nonsense, spoken by characters who have no place in the story, almost as if Godard got bored and moved his camera to a conversation he found more interesting. It's both frustrating and fascinating to see a director of such singular vision, and while there is little of the excitement and energy of his early New Wave work, 2 or 3 Things is an experience like no other.

Jean-Luc Godard is a master of making nonsense turn into something interesting, something of deep meaning. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is full of grand ideas, jumbled up no less, and in return they make a sometimes compelling and sometimes frustrating film. Godard famously once said that the film was supposed to be an homage to The Big Sleep, but instead of a detective, the main character is a prostitute. But if 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is an homage to The Big Sleep, then I must be a zebra. Frankly, no matter what Godard tries to tell us beforehand, this is a challenging film that has moments of great intellect and inspiration.The "her" in the title refers both to Marina Vlady and the city of Paris itself. Vlady "portrays" Juliette Janson, a bourgeois housewife that doubles as a prostitute in order to pay the bills. "Portrayal" has quote marks around it as Juliette is less of a character and more of a representation: Godard does not intend to tell the story of the complicated woman — he would prefer to study the changing climate of 1960s Paris and its people. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her marks a huge shift in Godard's career. A staggering fan of American cinema, his earlier projects, such as Pierrot Le Fou and A Woman Is A Woman, were genre films that were stylized as crime thrillers and Technicolor musicals, respectively. But 2 or 3 Things shows Godard more interested in politics and how the increasingly radical ideas of the world were shaping Europe. There are still very American things that show up in certain scenes: in the opening credits, the font is dressed in red, white, and blue. In the rest of the film, advertisements that surround the characters are designed with art deco boldness. But it's difficult to compare the film to anything the U.S. had to offer in cinemas in 1967.2 or 3 Things I Know About Her feels like a delve into Godard's brain at the time. The Vietnam War is mentioned frequently, serving not only as a point of critique but also as a pressing matter, always on the mind. Juliette's immoral lifestyle choice is not a plot device, but a reflection of 1967 France: President Charles de Gaulle's bold transformations to the economic system are prevalent. Skyscrapers are gazed upon with an alienated distance, and Juliette's work was an actual choice many women had to make as cost of living began to increase under his rule.Godard's positions are fascinating, but at times they begin to ramble and become disjointed in their aesthetic. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is at its most exciting when characters are simply having normal conversations. When they deliver fourth-wall breaking monologues, they lose quite a bit of their charisma as they feel as though Godard is talking to himself. Too much Godard can be too much Godard, after all.2 or 3 Things I Know About Her features more successes than failures; it's a film that doesn't have much emotional relevance but manages to create interest on a philosophical level. Godard had a great '60s, and this is a fitting closing.Read more reviews at petersonreviews.com

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard (À Bout De Soufflé (Breathless), Alphaville, Pierrot Le Fou), I wanted to watch this French film purely because it featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I never would have heard of it before reading about it. Basically this film does not tell a story, it is more a study of modern life, with almost everything you can think of put in, according to the director, sports, politics, even groceries, Godard narrates himself in a whispered voice. There is no conventional cinematic narrative, it sees one day in the life of Juliette Jeanson (Marina Vlady), her life is sophisticated but empty, she is a married mother but involves herself in prostitution, and after dropping off her screaming child her day is uneventful with the usual daily routine, shopping, housework and child-rearing, and appointments with clients, seen as banal rather than erotic. Also starring Anny Duperey as Marianne, Roger Montsoret as Robert Jeanson, Jean Narboni as Roger, Christophe Bourseiller as Christophe Jeanson, Marie Bourseiller as Solange Jeanson, Raoul Lévy as John Bogus, the American, Joseph Gehrard as Monsieur Gérard and Juliet Berto as Girl talking to Robert. The performance of Vlady obviously keeps whatever is going on flowing, but in fact the real "her" of the title is Paris, with all the images seen and sounds heard it combines to form a most interesting sociological essay, I agree it is somewhat dated, but is indeed still daring and a mostly splendid experimental drama. Good!

Jean-Luc Godard has been known for his intellectual observations and criticisms. This film is no exception, it is one of the director's masterpieces, a film of unique intellect and style, a movie in which feels almost like a documentary with many characters narrating their actions, along with Godard who whispers personal opinions and observations into the camera. The film is miraculous in its acute social observation along with its discussion of almost every facet of Paris life given both a realistic context by Godard and his pseudo-documentary approach and a fictional context by the actors, creating for us a sort of double-sided film of both fact and fiction, of satire and drama, and of love and hate. As with almost all Godard films, subjective to those not familiar with his sense of structure, but an essential viewing for the intellect.