La Chinoise

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

94%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 17

74%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 871

User image

La Chinoise Photos

View All Photos

Movie Info

Director Jean-Luc Godard, whose advocacy of Maoism bordered on intoxication, infuriated many traditionalist critics with his swiftly paced satire La Chinoise. Godard's then-wife Anne Wiazemsky plays a philosophy student who commiserates with the four members of her campus Maoist group. They are so taken by the external trappings of their cause--the posters, the Little Red Books, the by-rote chantings--that they seem not to grasp the true meaning of their political persuasion. Nor do they give any thought to the long-range ramifications of their terrorist activities. Godard is obviously on the students' side throughout, though he balances their fanaticism with the comparative gentility of old-style revolutionaries. Nonfans of Godard were given migraines by the director's perverse refusal to film even the simplest sequence in a linear, logical fashion. La Chinoise quickly gained the reputation of a "head film", best appreciated when the viewer is stoned. In these PC days, the audience for this sort of film is generally "straight"...which may be why it has seldom been shown in recent years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Watch it now

Cast

Juliet Berto
as Yvonne
Jean-Pierre Léaud
as Guillaume
Anne Wiazemsky
as Veronique
Blandine Jeanson
Michel Semeniako
Eliane Giovagnoli
Francis Jeanson
Lex De Bruijn
Omar Diop
View All

Critic Reviews for La Chinoise

All Critics (17) | Top Critics (7)

View All Critic Reviews (17)

Audience Reviews for La Chinoise

  • Aug 19, 2011
    Political alienation and brain-washing is the center of Godard's improvisatory, "metaflimic" masterpiece that showcases the implications of brainless theoretical fanatism before the stage of finding out that those "clear images" sought won't come out of the blue if such theory is not put into practice. The metaphysical merging of philosophy and alternate thought in the minds of these pretentious students juxtaposed with Godard's metafilm jokes clearly emphasize this point of madness: political sides can be questioned, but true politics are constructed from own actions with clearly defined purposes behind. Marvellous intellectual discussion. Very, very impressive, Mr. Godard! 99/100
    Edgar C Super Reviewer
  • Mar 15, 2011
    So it's a satire? I struggled to understand what this film is about throughout most of the ninety-five minutes, and I blame part of my struggles on my own ignorance: I don't know the time, the political climate, or Godard well enough to have any context. What I do know is that this film is remarkably hard to watch. It's either too-deft satire or preaching with the fervor that would make a Baptist minister blush. It's either a disjointed film in the tradition of Brian De Palma's Hi, Mom or so post-structural that even Jacques Derrida is screaming, "What the fuck?" Either way, what I said about Masculin Feminin is not true here: though it is jumbled, it is not ultimately compelling. Rather, its effect is repelling.
    Jim H Super Reviewer
  • Apr 24, 2010
    political diatribe from a trio of college kids bored during one summer in Paris. I thought the film was boring and only the two female actresses kept my interest (and that was for their appearance, not their acting). Only for Godard enthusiasts, otherwise pass.
    alan j Super Reviewer
  • Feb 09, 2010
    One of Jean-Luc Godard's most bluntly political works, "La Chinoise" is not easy to watch. The characters recite speeches and quotes more than they "act," and the film is so packed with harsh edits and two-layer dialogue that watching it may require a few rest breaks. Furthermore, people not fluent in French (this includes me) will be handicapped because the subtitles do not adequately cover all the overlapping talk, radio announcements and handwritten text that flood the frames. (Suffice to say that walls and blackboards are never wasted if they present an opportunity to display slogans or lecture notes.) At first glance, "La Chinoise" comes off like a movie about ideology alone, where actors only serve to deliver Godard's agitprop rather than to exist as personalities. But eventually, a sense of narrative emerges. The story -- loosely based on Dostoyevsky's novel "The Possessed" -- centers on a small group of student radicals who share an apartment. They are financially comfortable and a bit sheltered from the real world, and this inexperience is crucial. Their passionate exchanges of Marxist/Maoist doctrine and complaints about society initially seem presented as weighty truths, but the students' naivete is more than evident by the film's end. Godard's own position remains ambiguous -- he seems to crave the oft-discussed socialist revolution, but just doesn't trust these kids to lead it. Jean-Pierre Leaud and Anne Wiazemsky (Godard's one-time wife) are engaging in difficult roles, while the shots are attractively overloaded with primary yellows, blues and (especially) reds. Notable elements include an extended train dialogue between Wiazemsky and philosopher Francis Jeanson, a botched assassination, a catchy Marxist pop song, novelty guns that transform into radios and movie cameras, Leaud's depiction of international policies via a table of country-themed sunglasses and Juliet Berto's comic portrayal of a Vietnamese peasant attacked with toy planes. Copies of Mao Tse-Tung's "Little Red Book" are absurdly piled everywhere, and of course Godard inserts plenty of clapboard shots and jarring photo stills to prevent anyone from becoming too comfortable.
    Eric B Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

La Chinoise Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

News & Features