Film: And God . . . Created Woman

Director: Roger Vadim
Genre: Drama
Source: France (1956)
Rating: PG
Location/Format: Hulu Plus
Grade: B+

It is absolutely no surprise that this film made Bardot a household name (though it's far from her first film). She practically drips sex appeal here, from the initial curve of her naked body that Vadim presents her with, to her casually loose clothing (when it's not temptingly form fitting) to her sultry walk, to her increasingly untamed hair and growing wildness. The film blames her (to some degree) for the way men lose control around her, as that sensual wantonness becomes increasingly dangerous.  

Though Bardot is obviously fun to watch, however, Vadim's film fascinated me for the distance it places between the film and the viewer. Most of the film is shot in long and medium-long shots, with few close-ups. The result is that those close-ups become incredibly impactful--moments of intimacy (in a film that is all about intimacy and "knowing" someone, in all senses of the word) that force us to briefly stop seeing Bardot as sex-on-legs and remember that she is a person, and a somewhat tortured person at that, unable to fit together her conflicting desires into a satisfying life. The raucous dance at the film's climax only serves to highlight that lack of control she both produces in others and cannot tame in herself. 

The story tends toward the melodramatic for contemporary sensibilities, and I'm not fully clear on Vadim's message: Is Juliette to be condemned for following her appetites (the men certainly aren't)? Is she to reform? Is a pattern beginning that will be repeated again and again? Or is this about the uselessness of men's attempt to dominate and box women in to pre-defined roles? Though none are innocent, to what extent are the film's events Juliette's fault versus society's fault versus Carradine's versus Michel's versus Antoine's? I'm not sure the film makes it clear, or even knows. That distance mentioned above that is so intriguing also prevents us from understanding fully how characters have grown and changed.

I think mostly what we do have is Biblical allusion to the fall: the innocent man (Michel), the seductress (Bardot as Eve--sensual, a mother to animals, barefoot), the serpent (Carradine, I think), the temptation, the fall from grace. In that regard, the film's conclusion (though it seems ambiguous) can be read as an entry into the real world. Adam and Eve are a little more broken, a lot wiser, but still committed to one another. That reading of the film makes me like it a lot, and though it may not fully stand up to the test of time, there's enough to explore here to make me want to go back to it.

Plus, it would be a chance to watch Bardot some more.

Alternate Film Title: "Sex Kitten: The Movie"