Flick Pick

Director Jean-Luc Godard, once the enfant terrible of France's New Wave, was never much known for his charm. The groundbreaking Breathless, made in 1959, was full of enchantments and innovations, but the later films of Godard's most productive period, such as 1967's La Chinoise and 1968's Weekend, were seen by many as political and social harangues anchored in some of the deeper misconceptions of the New Left and in the director's own runaway ego. What a pleasure, then, to re-encounter the too-little-seen A Woman Is a Woman (Une Femme est une Femme), the buoyant and lovely film Godard made in 1961 starring his new bride, Anna Karina, as a spirited Paris stripper who wants to settle down and have a baby. Certainly, the romantic allure of the film reflects the happiness of the new marriage of the filmmaker and his leading lady (they were divorced in 1964), and that sweet fellow-feeling remains vivid more than four decades later. The revival gets under way Friday, November 21, at the Starz FilmCenter in the Tivoli building, with a new 35-millimeter print that shows this early work to its best advantage. The film also stars Godard regular Jean-Paul Belmondo as the boyfriend who is not interested in fatherhood, and Jean-Claude Brialy as his best friend, who apparently is. Woman will be on view for one week only. For more information and showtimes, call 303-820-3456.