Jean-Luc Godard's 1966 film Masculine Feminine breaks away from much of the traditional film language and story techniques that were developed through, what many film theorists call, the Institutional Mode of Representation (IMR). Many such departures can be seen in the film's opening scene alone.Then, when Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud) speaks with Madeleine Zimmer (Chantal Goya) in a small French cafe, the cross cutting between the two abruptly stops and the camera linger on a given character long after the other has begun to talk. When Godard wants to draw your attention to an arguing couple behind Paul and Madeline, he blatantly breaks the 180 degree rule and turns the camera completely around. The couple then proceeds to continue their fight outside and the wife shoots her husband in what is one of the highest action points of the entire film. This shows that Godard also had no regard for the basic linear plot pattern that most films at the time followed. Examples such as these continue throughout the film as we are also presented with a myriad of non-diegetic sounds, randomly dispersed title screens, and other classical film faux pas. This film was made near the end of the French New Wave period that Godard had been a major progenitor of and it is clear through it's many experimental aspects that he was beginning to explore many different genres and film making techniques while also rebelling from various classic film models.
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