Je vous salue, Marie (Hail Mary)

Present day France. Mary helps out at her father's garage. One day a man called Gabriel tells her she is going to have a child although she has never been with a man. A visit to the doctor confirms his story. At first jealous and angry her boyfriend Joseph begins to accept the pregnancy and they decide on a marriage without any physical relationship. Condemned by some Church organisations and acclaimed by others, this reinterpretation of the Nativity is one of Godard's most controversial films. The Virgin Birth is presented as a reality - the mystery for Godard is womanhood and birth in general. This he explores through stunning images of nature and the nude figure of his heroine, the latter photographed chastely without voyeurism.