Vivre Sa Vie tells in a series of twelve tableaux, each preceded by a summary title, the story of Nana, a Parisian shop clerk who, in the process of re-thinking her life, takes up prostitution, “giv(ing) her body but keep(ing) her soul while she experiences a series of adventures which bring her knowledge of all possible human emotions.” Connections to Dreyer's Passion Of Joan Of Arc (of which an entire sequence is included in Vivre Sa Vie) are several, but for starters consider Francois Truffaut's comment, “A film like Vivre Sa Vie constantly carries us to the limits of the abstract and then to the limits of the concrete; without doubt it is this balance that creates emotion.” And Anna Karina's thorough and compelling performance in what amounts to a profile of the actress: Made up like Louise Brooks she is nevertheless laid bare by her own choice(s) before us and herself.

Jean Cocteau commented, “Jeanne D'Arc seems like an historical document from an era in which the cinema didn't exist.” Vivre Sa Vie seems like a contemporary document that consistently reflects upon its (filmic) self in a conscious and inspired effort to expand the language of the cinema.