Vivre Sa Vie

Godard's Vivre Sa Vie is a film that has a very unique style to it. The film is shot in a very unusual way when compared to other films of the same genre. During a few of the dialogue scenes, the camera is facing the back of the character that is speaking. This gives the audience a feeling that we are eavesdropping on the conversation as it is taking place. Furthermore, much of the camera movement throughout the film is very static. The camera focuses on only one person during other dialogue scenes. Instead of seeing what is going on around that character or even gaging the response of the person being spoken with, the audience only sees one person speaking. This technique is effective because it gives us a sense that we are the people being spoken to. During the 'new wave trademark' tracking shots, the camera is also focused on one person; usually from the front and also from the side at times. Again, it forces us to focus on that specific character instead of getting caught up in what is taking place around them.

The narrative is also as peculiar as the way it was shot. The film is broken up into different sections or 'scenes' - all with different titles for each individual section of the film. Also, the dialogue of the film alludes to the fact that there are things that take place in between sections that is not shown on camera. This also makes the film very effective for a variety of reasons. The main reason being that it allows the audience to recreate the action in our own heads. The most effective films are the ones that play on the emotions of the people that are watching them. If you are watching a film and you leave without a very strong opinion or feeling about it then the film was obviously ineffective in really reaching you. However, this film has the ability to allow the audience to create important parts of the narrative on their own. Ultimately, it makes the film more interesting as well. This particular style the film possess gives it a very unique look and feel to it.