Film

Made in U.S.A

Name: Made in U.S.A
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Comedy
Released: 1967
Cast: Anna Karina, Szabó László, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marianne Faithfull, Yves Afonso

Godard's 1967 crime romp set in Atlantic City, where Anna Karina plays Paula Nelson investigating her lover's mysterious death. It's fractured, playful, and viciously smart—a noir that keeps deconstructing itself. For those who love style-drunk cinema and don't mind ambiguity, contradiction, or the occasional sense that the director is laughing at the whole enterprise.

TMDb rating

3.1

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Contempt1963

Godard's masterpiece about a marriage collapsing during a film production. Absolutely gorgeous, rich in ideas, and it hums with genuine emotion beneath the philosophical games. Brigitte Bardot is extraordinary.

But It's slower and more meditative than you'd expect from its premise. The intellectual arguments can feel remote if you're not in the mood to sit with them.

Band of Outsiders1964

Godard at his most accessible: a crime film with real narrative momentum, genuine suspense, and moments of surprising tenderness. The famous dance scene is worth the price of admission alone.

But Relatively straightforward for Godard, which means it still plays by rules that don't quite make sense. Don't expect conventional plotting.

Breathless1960

The film that invented the French New Wave. Jean-Paul Belmondo in his prime, Paris in black and white, and a restless energy that still feels alive. It's short, sharp, and endlessly rewatchable.

But The jump cuts and self-conscious style can feel mannered if you're seeing them for the first time. The gender politics are very much of their era.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Made in U.S.A

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Alphaville1965

Both films use genre scaffolding (crime, detection) as a frame to hang Godard's formal experiments and sarcasm about meaning itself. Both are brief, witty, and have almost no respect for their own premises.

Godard shoots science fiction with spy-film energy in futuristic Paris using its actual 1960s architecture. It's deadpan and visually stunning—a philosophical thriller that moves like a real thriller. Eddie Constantine carries the whole thing on charisma alone.

But The ideas-to-plot ratio is severe. You're often unsure what's happening and why, and the film accepts that as fine.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her1967

Godard's companion piece to Made in U.S.A—also from 1967, also using Paris (and a prostitute) to explore capitalism and representation. Hypnotic and genuinely strange, shot in vivid colour.

But There is virtually no plot. If you're looking for narrative, you're in the wrong place entirely.

Vivre Sa Vie1962

Anna Karina in one of her greatest roles: a woman's descent into prostitution told with Godard's formal brilliance and unexpected compassion. Divided into chapters like a novel, it's both abstract and deeply human.

But The film doesn't offer easy answers or emotional catharsis. Its refusal to judge or pity can read as cold.

Pierrot le Fou1965

A lovers-on-the-run film that's also a philosophical essay on cinema, romance, and suicide. Wildly colourful, increasingly unhinged, and completely original. Belmondo and Karina at peak Godard.

But The tonal shifts are abrupt and destabilizing. It breaks its own rules so often you're never sure what film you're watching.

The Killers1946

Siodmak's noir classic: a man waits for assassins and we slowly learn why. Glossy, atmospheric, and tightly constructed. The Ava Gardner scenes alone are worth your time.

But It's a conventional thriller by comparison to what Godard was doing, which might feel quaint if that's your baseline.

Out of the Past1947

Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer in the quintessential noir—fatalism, betrayal, and absolutely killer dialogue. If you want to understand why people love the genre, this is the place to start.

But Straight-ahead narrative comfort food. No deconstruction, no style games, just excellent craftsmanship.

Gun Crazy1950

A lean, kinetic lovers-on-the-run film with genuine chemistry and some surprisingly modern filmmaking. It's what Bonnie and Clyde learned from. Brackett and Cowan at their best.

But It's a B-picture, which means it has the budget and pacing of one. The ending is blunt. Some prints are scratchy.

Le Samouraï1967

Both films use a crime narrative as a Trojan horse for something else entirely. Made in U.S.A deconstructs genre, Le Samouraï transcends it—but both are more interested in *how* a story gets told than *what* the story is. Both are brief and strange.

Melville's ice-cold masterpiece about a hitman with a code. Shot in muted greys and blues, hypnotically composed, almost silent. It's pure cinema—story told entirely through image and gesture. Alain Delon in perhaps his most elegant role.

But Glacial pacing. Minimal dialogue. If you need warmth or momentum or plot clarity, this will feel like punishment.

The Long Good Friday1980

Both centre on a strong woman or man encountering the criminal underworld and finding the rules don't apply evenly—but where Made in U.S.A plays this as absurdist comedy and formal playfulness, Friday plays it straight and makes it devastating. Different registers, same insight.

Bob Hoskins as a London crime boss whose empire collapses over a single day. It's furious, funny, and perfectly structured—a thriller that actually thrills while also working as character study and social commentary. Released at the right moment to feel like a political statement.

But The climax is ambiguous in a way that frustrated audiences on release. It's also very English and very much of its moment, which can feel dated depending on your tolerance.