…And God Created Woman

The film opens with an image of Juliette sunbathing naked, played, of course, by the legendary Brigitte Bardot – a shot that perfectly captures both the subject and the spirit of the film as a whole. Director Roger Vadim turns the camera’s desirous gaze on his first wife, casting her as a teenage beauty from an orphanage, stepping into adulthood surrounded by men who covet her body.

Yearning for love and tenderness, Juliette is deceived and manipulated by those around her. She becomes both the object of every man’s desire and the victim of her own reputation: no one sees her as wife material, only as someone suited to a passing affair. When the prospect of being sent back to the orphanage looms, her only options are adoption or a marriage of convenience. Juliette chooses the latter, but gradually begins to search within it for something real. Throughout it all, she tries to discover herself and give shape to the passion stirring within her by following the promptings of her heart.

Despite the absence of explicitly erotic scenes, …And God Created Woman brims with sexual tension and barely contained desire, while Bardot’s performance marked a decisive turning point in her career and remains one of the most iconic roles of one of European cinema’s undisputed stars.

Marcin Grudziąż

Roger Vadim (1928–2000) – French screenwriter, film director, and producer. His films were turbulent, controversial, and charged with emotion and eroticism, often drawing inspiration from his own private life. Known also for his widely publicized relationships, he frequently cast his wives in leading roles, including Brigitte Bardot, Annette Strøyberg, and Jane Fonda.