...And God Created Woman (1957)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Simply A Masterpiece

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Miss Bardot plays the role of innocent waif with a certain--well, innocence, that few modern actresses could pull off so well. Come to think of it, few actresses of any age could pull off. It is not just innocence, it is playful innocence. And at age 21 or 22 when she made this, Miss Bardot was young and innocent and playful.She, of course, marries the wrong brother to spite the one who actually wants her; she falls for the older man (played by Curt Jurgens) who wants to buy land for a casino in St. Tropez, but disguises his intention by pretending to build yet another ship building company. And this older man, who seems to want nothing more than to have her for a play-pal, ends up being structural to her life with her husband.She cheats on husband, unexpected denouement of reinforced love, of re-committed love, of under-appreciated love for that husband.I didn't find the movie shallow, trite, or obvious. And by the standards of 1956--even by those standards it was fairly tame for anyone who was used to visiting nudist camps. "Playboy" had just made an appearance about two years previous, and even by that standard, it was tame. It was a time before people confused sex with porn. The Legion of Decency condemned the film for the nudity, but certainly by modern standards, it is hardly shocking. (Shocking that there was a time that the Legion of Decency even existed, much less listened to.)

Is that supposed to be a joke?! What an awful film. *Extremely sexist and absolutely nonsense.* I mean, Brigitte Bardot's is only there to show her legs and semi-nude body _ of course, she's stunning. But why exploit her in such an outrageous and blatant manner? There is no character development whatsoever, we simply get to see a few caricatures; stereotyped characters popping out of nowhere while the leads_"also stereotypes, the 'whore' horny wife married to the 'typical' husband who loves his wife but needs to defend his honor_" and the couple is either *beep* or talking nonsense. There is also a background story between the husband and a bald old rich man who wants to buy his supposedly 'valuable' lands, story which is left unsolved at the end. Is really a miserable, nonsense screenplay. *More nonsense...* Also, why Bardot's character was shooting people in the street? I mean what the hell?! Probably the best example I could give of how nonsensical and moronic this film is. The ending is almost as moronic as this scene too. *DESPITE being extremely screwed, the editing makes the film interesting (at times...)* Yes. Is a very screwed editing work, have no doubts about it. BUT...it actually worked sometimes. In the first half of the film, there is really a nice pace -and not so many nonsense going on- and the film got even watchable at some point, and really interesting to look at DESPITE EVERYTHING. But the second half of the film is absolutely awful in that aspect. *Conclusion* I can firmly say there was no intention in telling a story in that film. The only thing director Roger Vadim wanted to do was show Bardot's semi-nude body, arousing the man around her. I said it. There is simply no artistic values in this film, there is no craft put in this film, there isn't even enough effort put in this film. Horrible. No matter how bad the censorship "cut" this film at the time, there is simply no excuse to why it sucks so bad.

I had never seen his film. Back in the sixties all the guys talked about Brigitte Bardot. Of course, the chances of seeing a film like this in our local theater were about nil. It's a decent movie in that we see why she was such a cinema presence. Her pouting mouth and bohemian being would be attractive to anyone in the male population. The story is certainly one that has been told many times. She is kept out of the orphanage by marrying a man who is still a child. Her reputation precedes her and he must endure the taunts of the local men, including one on his wedding day which gets him into a fight he can't possibly win. From then on her promiscuity and attraction to high testosterone carries forward. If a man fawns on her, he can forget it. Still, the guy really loves her and that is never in doubt. As this film ends, we know that the story will continue, bumps in the road.

By 1956 I was a child at primary school, and remember well that my colleagues mentioned that film. We were not permitted to go and watch the movie, but were concerned about it. B.B. was the sex symbol star by that time... to watch her was a shared aspiration by all her fans and to get it was a prowess. Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to watch a film starred by B.B. at a cinema room, nor by that time neither by now.The film career of B.B. is extensive indeed, but only a very few titles were brought to Chile. "And God created Woman", "Viva Maria" (where B.B. acts as a female guerrilla leader during the Mexican Revolution) have been the only films I ever remember to be exhibited in public cinema rooms in Chile.