Wer sind Sie, Polly Maggoo?

Director William Klein was clearly having a lot of fun here. Who Are You Polly Maggoo? Is one crazy ride, like a clown-car blown sideways through the Parisian fashion district. The plot is a flimsy thing onto which wacky, manic set pieces are hung...Polly is modeling, Polly is being interviewed, Polly is being courted, people say nonsensical things with great aplomb. But like Godard's films of the era, the real action is the unpredictable flow of ideas, words, unrealistic scenarios, striking images. Unlike Godard, Polly Maggoo is genuinely funny. It's a delightful example of the pre-May '68 anarchic pop-art exuberance: everything is weird and wild, and nothing matters very much. Maybe Klein's satirical surrealism most closely resembles Robert Downey Sr's "Putney Swope", another goofy, confounding comedic confection that folks find either nonsensical or hysterical. Meanwhile on the pop charts, Gainsbourg and Bardot advocated for "Shebam! Pow! Blop! Whizzz!" -- and Klein was right back at them with a hearty "beep-beep!" Taken on its own terms, a loveable little film.

At its heart, this is a blistering satire on the ideas of fashion and celebrity within the world of 1960's Paris, but more importantly, can be seen as a treatise on the extended themes of identity, personality and love. More obviously than that, however, the film can and should be seen as an exercise in pure cinematic style and an extension of the world created through art, music and fashion, in which the traditions and ideals of the pre-war generation were completely eroded, giving way to a world alive with ideas and radical free-thinking. The film reflects this notion throughout, becoming an extension of its own world as the filmmakers revel in moments of visual imagination, farce and philosophy, and all backed by a dizzying sense of post-modern abstraction that seems directly lifted from the iconic, early 60's work of director Jean Luc Godard.

Given the plot, themes and cinematic iconography, obvious parallels could be drawn with Godard's first masterpiece Une femme est une femme (1961), with the film flaunting ideas of post-modernism and self-reflexivity, whilst offering a playful narrative that looks at issues regarding gender, identity, equality and love. Throughout the film, director William Klein brazenly mixes elements of cartoon satire - with the absurd photo shoots and pretentious critics who invent words for the silliest of fashions - with more jarring bursts of cinéma-vérité inspired docudrama, with the film within a film and the always interesting notion of a self-aware narrative that is continually commenting on itself! With this, we can see yet another strong sense of Godardian abstraction, with the further influence of films like Vivre sa Vie (1962), Le Mepris (1963) and Pierrot le fou (1965) becoming apparent in the melange of post-modern ideas, both visual and textual. However, despite some of these more radical ideas, the plotting of the film and the overall reliance on character and intent are incredibly simple; creating a film that is bold, imaginative and intellectually stimulating, but also a great deal of fun.

The concept of the film revolvers around three central characters; the titular American fashion model currently taking Paris by storm; the faraway Prince Charming desperate to engineer a meeting with the model; and a middle-aged TV producer who sets out to lampoon Polly on his show, "Who Are You?", but eventually ends up falling madly in love. Both of the male characters view Polly as a dull cipher devoid of character, and indeed, these are the very same qualities that make them fall in love; that masculine idea of the perfect woman - stylish and beautiful, but devoid of personality and opinion. As the film continues, we discover more about Polly as a person and begin to see the formation of a definite personality that ultimately dwarfs the men in her life, showing them up to be shallow, outdated bores out of step with the more radical social changes currently taking place. In this respect, you could possible view the film as an early feminist manifesto, as Polly, faced with the choice between the wealthy Prince and the learned intellectual, instead decides to live life for herself.

The previous reviewer who dismissed the film seems to have missed the point somewhat. Although this clearly is a work of satire on the very broadest of levels, the focus goes much further than the fashion industry - and the (then) vibrant mid 60's scene - to incorporate broader notions of social status, gender issues and the widening generation gap. It isn't meant to be taken entirely seriously, with the unconventional music sequences, outlandish costumes, imaginative approach to editing, design and composition, and a mid-film segment of Gilliamesque animation, all intended to delight as opposed to disarm! If anything, I would say that the film is something of a precursor (in tone) to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's frothy character study Amelie (2001), but again, filtered through the lens of Godard circa 1961. For me, the joy of the film, with its light references to society and art, politics and sociology, really captures a mood and an atmosphere and, above all else, a visual experience, that is really second to none.

This is the only films of Klein's that I have seen so far, although I'm now desperate to see his subsequent films, Mister Freedom (1969) and The Model Couple (1978). The images presented here are stunning in their pop-art abstraction, reminding me of elements of Toshio Matsumoto's later film Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) and even Godard's political satire La Chinoise (1967), with the bold use of texture, design and the iconic compositions. This is to be expected from a celebrated photographer turned filmmaker immersed in the vibrant world of 60's Paris, however, there's much more to the film that simply gloss and imagination. The performances are all incredibly well-judged, from the enigmatic and unconventionally beautiful Dorothy McGowan as Polly, to the fine support from Jean Rochefort, Sami Frey, Grayson Hall and Philippe Noiret, who all manage to balance the elements of satire and abstraction, without becoming two-dimensional caricatures.

Some will obviously take issues with certain elements of the style, particularly anyone who isn't fond of early Godard or the broader aspects of the French New Wave; though, if you approach the film with an open mind and the right frame of reference the rewards are limitless. I saw the film last month at the BFI Southbank with a packed audience and the entire crowd were laughing and appreciating the jokes and enjoying that unique and imaginative sense of style, which climaxes with a wonderfully Roland Topor designed credit sequence and a catchy French pop title song. Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966) is simply, without question, a great piece of film-making; a fast, funny and entirely flippant forgotten masterpiece that still stands as an exceptional work of comic-satire, pop art and pure cinematic expression.

Although certainly superior to the other two releases in the Eclipse 3 DVD set of William Klein films, 'Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?' still suffers from the same debilitating loss of steam and shapelessness which bog down the later 'Mr. Freedom' and the prescient (if turgid) 'The Model Couple'.

After a promising start with a Paris fashion show, where rake-thin models parade through a cave in Dadaesque conical aluminium outfits, we are introduced to the eponymous heroine who is being profiled for a TV show which shares the films title. Dorothy McGowan is the unconventionally pretty (and highly appealing) Polly, whose life story is that of a 1960's Cinderella; plucked from obscurity from a crowd of Beatles fans at Kennedy Airport, as she was in real life, and rocketed to become the next supermodel. We are also introduced to an ennui glazed Prince, who fantasizes about procuring Polly, while the director of the TV profile slowly comes to find himself ensnared by her bemused charm. Cross-cut with this basic story are pretty pointless secondary characters who amount to little in the grander scheme of the film. There are the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern like dolts who go off to try and fetch Polly for their Prince (their absurdist exploits become highly annoying before long) and an sadly underwritten Rasputin-like figure who seemingly works for the Prince's mother.

Although often labeled as a critique of the fashion industry (surely a very soft target for satire) there is much more going on in the heart of this film. Klein has plenty of scope to pursue the meaninglessness of celebrity and how all (even those who posses it themselves) can succumb to the fantasy ideal that it enticingly instills in us, along with notions of individual self and the ever present critique of American vs. European sensibility. However, too many scenes are fractured away from the main points (the minutiae of the Prince's daydreams get rather tedious) and the change in mediums, like the animated sequences, seem thrown in to try and grab the audiences interest from floundering rather than present any real structural intention. Fantasy sequences such as Polly's daydream about the TV directors family (reminiscent in tone to the 1965 Terry Southern scripted masterpiece 'The Loved One') show some gripping vision but, again and again, Klein drops the ball by succumbing to the same excesses which would later characterize a certain type of 1960's film-making (such as the all-star spoof 'Casino Royale' or the great Alexander Mackendrick's directorial swan song, 'Don't Make Waves' - both released 1967).

As a visionary stylist, Klein excels but as a theorist and social commentator he flounders hopelessly in circular arguments and observations. As with the director's other fictional films, 'Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?' gives plenty in the way of wacky antics and visually impressive set-pieces but delivers little in regards to a coherent, tightly structured film experience.

Lesser known French New Wave filmmaker (lesser known probably because he was actually an American directing movies in France) William Klein directs this crazy film about model Polly Maggoo (Dorothy McGowan). The film is narratively insane - it goes everywhere and anywhere on a whim without too much of a clear story. It's reminiscent of Godard's more fun films, or maybe even some of the stuff Richard Lester was doing at the time like Help! and The Knack. It satirizes both the fashion world and filmmaking (Maggoo is besieged by a filmmaking crew doing a doc on her). A lot of cool images here. Not for those who insist on a strong narrative, but I enjoyed it a lot.

French satire of the fashion industry from director William Klein stars real-life Vogue model Dorothy McGowan as Polly Maggoo, a supermodel from Brooklyn now a sensation in France, being followed everywhere by a film-crew eager to find the real woman behind the glamour. Lots of targets (mostly dry little pokes at the pretensions inherent in the world of fashionistas), romantic fantasies, and behind the scenes indecision. Stylishly presented (if awfully choppy) in black-and-white, with some droll commentary, though its sense of humor is ultimately a matter of taste. *1/2 from ****