Une femme est une femme by Jean-Luc Godard is a refreshing, quirky, screwball comedy that deviates from the stereotypical mid-of-the-century musical. It could’ve well been intended as a retort to “An American in Paris”.

Godard depicts a G-rated striptease dancer who purposely woos the best friend of her boyfriend to make him jealous because of his unwillingness to have a child. With the occasional wink to the camera, the actors invite the audience as an accomplice to their story and maybe even luring it to take a side. This “musical” lacks in singing —and sometimes even talking— what it abounds in choreography (as in synchronized movements of the participants and not intentional dancing). Yet it’s ironic to call it a musical, since the score and soundtrack at times give the impression of having been done by an amateur with scratched LPs.

In the climax of the film’s ludicrousness, the couple choreographs a confrontation with each other by carrying a floor lamp while going from one library shelf to the other, selecting a series of books with a suitable title, and manifesting those titles to the other —like a script so as to express the “unspeakable”. This turns out to be more of ludic quarrel than a hostile one. A true joy for the spectator.