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Synopsis:
In St. Tropez, a dissatisfied teenager (Brigitte Bardot) marries a local boy (Jean-Louis Trintignant) to avoid being sent back to the orphanage, but continues to covet Trintignant’s brother (Christian Marquand) and is desired by a middle-aged businessman (Curd Jurgens) hoping to purchase land owned by Trintignant and Marquand’s family.
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Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:
- Brigitte Bardot Films
- Curt Jurgens Films
- French Films
- Infidelity
- Morality Police
- Orphans
- Roger Vadim Films
- Sexuality
Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that “Brigitte Bardot became an international sex symbol as the result of her role in husband Roger Vadim’s debut film,” spending “the entire film wrapped in towels or in tight, sexy outfits, or nude.” He describes Bardot as “the forerunner of many young females in future French film in that she lives for herself, is sexually promiscuous, is guiltless about her disloyalty toward men, [and] has an eager body that sends stronger messages to her brain than her conscience” (!). Peary argues that “you’ll forget the men” in this picture “and remember Bardot sunbathing,” “standing nude behind a sheet on the outdoor clothesline”, “in bed with Trintignant”, “on the beach with Marquand”, and “doing a sizzling dance in front of many men.” You’ll also likely remember the lovely location shooting in St. Tropez, which is a distinctive plus. Peary writes that while the “picture tends to be dismissed as simply the film that made Bardot famous,” it “could very easily be called the first picture of the French New Wave”, and as such merits a look by historically minded film fanatics — but be forewarned that the storyline is both boring and overwrought, and none of the characters are particularly sympathetic.
Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
- Brigitte Bardot as Juliete
- Fine cinematography
- Lovely location shooting in St. Tropez
Must See?
Yes, simply for Bardot’s performance — and its historical relevance as a precursor to the French New Wave.
Categories
- Historically Relevant
- Noteworthy Performance(s)
Links:
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2 thoughts on “… And God Created Woman / And Woman… Was Created (1956)”
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An entertaining film but obviously in and of itself, not a great film. It’s a rock solid production. But, it has a certain historical significance and is therefore a must see.
Not must-see.
This film exists only to inform the world that Bardot was a hot young thing. ~ which is true and the film constantly reminds us of that: “Her ass is a song.”, etc.
Alas, beauty itself does not a film make. And this one is dreary from start to finish. Besides, it’s not as if Bardot ever became an actress of any discernible talent.
By way of contrast, I offer up Marilyn Monroe’s must-see performance in ‘The Seven-Year Itch’: not only is Monroe a knockout, but she’s in a film which is pretty much a knockout itself – at least when Monroe is front and center (and the film remains justifiably popular today).