First Name - Carmen

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

Movie Info

First Name: Carmen tells the parallel stories of a quartet rehearsing Beethoven and a group of young people robbing a bank, supposedly to get the funds to make a film. Director Jean-Luc Godard attempts to make a film that resembles a string quartet, each of whose parts serves an abstract whole. The film is a meditation on the difficulties of youth in the 1980s, the relations between cinema and capital, and how to film the human body. Godard fills the film with carefully composed shots of bodies playing music, making love, and acting violently. His attention to bodies in First Name: Carmen makes the film's images very close to sculptures, particularly those of Rodin. The film's engagement with painting and sculpture continues Godard's ongoing investigation of the relationships between cinema and other arts ~ Louis Schwartz, Rovi

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Art House & International, Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Special Interest
Directed By:

Jean-Luc Godard
Written By:

Anne-Marie Miéville
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 1983 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jul 5, 2000
Runtime:

95 minutes

Cast

Maruschka Detmers
as Carmen X

Jacques Bonnaffé
as Joseph Bonnaffe

Myriem Roussel
as Claire

Christophe Odent
as The Boss

Pierre-Alain Chapuis

Jean-Luc Godard
as Uncle Jean

Hippolyte Girardot
as Fred

Christine Pignet

Jacques Villeret
as Man eating yogurt

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Critic Reviews for First Name - Carmen

All Critics (9) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (1)

This, throwaway jokes and all, is Godard back at his most nouvelle vague in years.

Apr 17, 2007 | Full Review…

Time Out
Top Critic
He is searching for a point of equilibrium between the made and the found, the ordered and the chaotic -- a point from which to define an aesthetic for the 80s.

Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
One of Jean-Luc Godard's more coherent efforts of his later years.

Jul 12, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
With equal parts heist drama and romantic comedy, the movie continues Godard's exploration of film ....

Feb 14, 2008 | Full Review…

Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
By accepting his indulgences, the viewer is treated both to his wry sense of humor and his refreshing intelligence.

Jun 15, 2007 | Rating: 4/5

Douglas Pratt
DVDLaser
This is Godard at his most mischievous.

Apr 17, 2007 | Full Review…

Film4 Staff
Film4
The film is spiced with passion, philosophy, eroticism, and technical innovation, and while its ideas are relatively accessible, they still do not make for 'easy' viewing.

Aug 29, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

TV Guide
In the middle of the muddle, there was a nearly perfect scene.

Feb 28, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

View All Critic Reviews (9)

Audience Reviews for First Name - Carmen

Jan 22, 2007

godard seemed to be in a period where coherency and story mattered a whole lot less than art, which doesnt work in film, because the true art of film is the ability to tell good stories, but this film has enough other things going for it despite its lack of clarity that it is saved from disaster. the film is shot very well, and seeing godard in front of his camera was interesting enough. missing the charm of his earlier work but still very watchable.

danny d Super Reviewer