First Name: Carmen

Prenom Carmen

A loose reimagining of Bizet’s titular opera, Godard’s enigmatic film blends crime caper, political commentary, and romantic entanglement in the story of Carmen (Maruschka Detmers), a young militant who recruits her uncle, a washed-up filmmaker (JLG himself), and Joseph, a hapless bank guard, for a robbery to fund her avant-garde string quartet. With formal daring typical of this period, Godard presents his narrative in a fractured, unconventional form, with frequent musical interludes. Winner of the Golden Lion at the 1983 Venice Film Festival, Prenom Carmen provided the director with a welcome late-career critical resurgence.

This film is part of the Truth, 24 Times Per Second: The Films of Jean-Luc Godard selection on IFI@Home.