This is one of the most magical films I have ever seen. A lot of people weren't happy with the film, making it a controversial film, but I think it has many good things going for it. Viewing the film also made me wonder why it was so controversial, but as it continued through, I got the hint to why it was the way it was, and why it got a half good, half bad reputation.All the film is about is it's a modern retelling of Mary experiencing life, working through it, and then having her baby Jesus. At first when I watched the film, it was very odd, out there and un-expecting.I want to say one thing about the film which was hard to understand.Every time a guy and his little girl or a blonde chick and an older guy came on screen, I never understood their purpose in the film. I never even understood what they were talking about. That's the only problem I had with the film but despite that little issue, I had nothing else wrong with the film and now I'm going to go through all of the keys that made this film super strong.1. I understood the story, the issues that Mary & Joesph were going through, the mood, the themes and the dramatic moments very well.2. As I continued to watch the film, The actress who played the Mary character so well was making it moving and it also made me feel emotional. That's how I felt about this film, it was moving and emotional. She was a strong actress who made this film.3. I also loved the continuous shots with the moon, water and the rest of the environment, and the music was just a joy to listen to. I thought that set the tone for the film.4. Not too mention how weird the ending was. The ending was an absolute joy to watch. Just love the ending close up shot showing Mary's lips and then it blacking out for a second.I think that everyone who comes across this should give it a chance. It's not even a bad film and mostly everything in this film is solid as. It's just one of those films that you can't turn your back on, it's a film that lightens your eyes to watch every scene and it never gets boring. It was one of those rare films that you see rarely when you can engage with the story and characters and for some reason, I felt at times I engaged with the Mary character. It is a controversial classic and I love it. 8.5/10

The late Pope John Paul II said this film "deeply wounds the religious sentiments of believers." It may well be that the Roman Catholic hierarchy's cover-up of pedophile priests has done more to wound the religious sentiments of believers than any mere movie could. The controversy over "Hail, Mary," like the controversies surrounding "The Last Temptation of Christ," "The Passion of the Christ," and "The Da Vinci Code" shows that any time a filmmaker deals with religious issues in his work he risks offending a sizable constituency. That's understandable: faith is an important part of most people's lives, and in a world rife with religious divisions you can't please everyone. Who knows? Maybe you shouldn't try. "Hail Mary," though obscure and enigmatic in Godard's finest manner, is nowhere as blasphemous as most of Luis Bunuel's stuff. In updating the story of the Nativity to contemporary France he nowhere denies the historical truth of the Virgin Birth or the divinity of Christ. "Hail, Mary" marks a turning-point in Godard's career when he abandoned the materialism of his Maoist period for a more spiritual, philosophical approach. Beautiful Myriem Roussel gives a striking portrayal of the Virgin Mary as a high school basketball player who works at her father's gas station; when her thuggish boyfriend Joseph (Thierry Rode) learns she's pregnant he's understandably suspicious. The film is touching as it deals with two ordinary people trying to make sense of something extraordinary entering and disrupting their lives; one can well believe that the historical Mary and Joseph went through just such struggles as the couple in the film. We get only a brief glimpse of the boy Jesus, but his death on the Cross is clearly foreshadowed. Interestingly, Godard uses some of the same music that Pasolini used in "The Gospel According to Saint Matthew." "Hail Mary" deals with complicated themes of the meaning of life, the wonder of birth, creation v. evolution, in an intelligent and thoughtful way far superior to the strident agitprop produced by American evangelicals. A beautiful if perplexing film.

The best part of this film is the music. It is Classic. Dvorak Cello Concerto and Bach Chaconne is well shuffled even before IPod existed. So are the shots. Shuffled, repetitive, boring. The story? Confusing. Religion has nothing to do with my comments. I am an Atheist. While the actress playing the Virgin has a beautiful body and the naked shots are most enjoyable, the script does not allow her to utter an intelligent or intelligible sentence. The other actors are not convincing either. They are not real, and in that respect the virgin birth could be acceptable in the environment as presented. Could this film be regarded as a great director's mistake?Andrew B.

Hmmm...I don't know if anything that I say about this movie will be relevant to anyone else. This movie has been in my consciousness for over 20 years and has influenced me in one way or another.Trivia: It was because of the moving and sublime use of Mahler's 9th and Bach's Partita in this movie that I sought out the works of these composers and they've since become important points in my musical foundation.At the lake the professor speaks of signals from outer space, the sound in the background is an electronic bzzt bzzt...but in the next shot we see the sound is merely the professor's magic marker as he doodles.Mary politely nodding to instructions given by her basketball coach while piano music (J.S.Bach's wtc book1 prelude 1) swells in and out overwhelming the coach and the noise on the basketball court. She is still smiling and nodding and acting according to the earthly matters at hand even though The Voice calls to her. It is a very beautiful piece of cinema.Mary and Joseph talking on the pier. In order to see him, Mary has to block out the blinding sun with her hand: that's the whole meaning of Mary brilliantly focused into one image.The "oui, non" strophe/antistrophe appears first as a monologue by the student guiding the rubik's cube manipulator's hand to the solution, and then later as a monologue by Mary guiding Joseph's hand.The "oui, non" strophe/antistrophe also appears in Godard's short film "Armide", his part of "Aria".The little girl angel instructing Mary to "be pure, be tough." (I only have the Japanese DVD, so I'm paraphrasing. The original French is more flowing.) This is the first New Wave film - the first Godard film - I ever saw.I discovered Jean-Luc Godard by reading James Monaco's "The New Wave".I only plucked the Monaco book off the library shelf because at the time I was obsessed with "New Wave" bands like The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Smiths, New Order, etc.The lipstick circles Myriem Roussel's open mouth, the end.