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BREATHLESS (1960) (****)

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This landmark film is considered by many as the first picture of the French New Wave. For director Jean-Luc Godard — a critic turned director — this film was his feature debut and marked such a revolution in content and style that it was actually band for four years in Finland.

The story is simple — two-bit car thief Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo, MISSISSIPPI MERMAID) is pulled over in a stolen automobile, panics and shoots the police officer. He flees to Paris where he tries to collect some cash as well as hang low until the heat cools down. He meets up with his girl Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg, AIRPORT), an American who works part-time selling newspapers as well as a little reporting while she waits to be accepted into the Sorbonne. As police inspector Vital (Daniel Boulanger, SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER) doggedly searches for Michel, we follow the thuggish-looking killer as he follows around the beautiful Patricia. During the course of the story, we will learn a lot about the young lovers' relationship, which is modern and unconventional compared to the traditional screen romance.

So what makes this simple love story so groundbreaking? It harkened in a more free style with handheld camera moves, more natural lighting and changed editing styles with jump cuts, which create a surprising feeling of tension in simple dialogue scenes. Today, many action films use the technique to create a frantic pace. The handheld camera added a documentary-like realism. Additionally, the grainy film stock gave it an unpolished edge. Compared to the slick looking studios films that had come before, this was totally new.

However, I believe the lasting impact is its characters. More profound than the free-flowing camera or the raw look, writer Francois Truffaut (whose 400 BLOWS is considered by others as the first New Wave film) and Godard's dialogue captures such a natural feel that the viewer can believe they are listening in on real people talk. Additionally, the characters act like real young people. They're obsessed with sex, self-centered, have hang-ups and make mistakes. The film feels so real because the characters aren't symbols of a theme or a larger metaphor, but are people focused on their own personal problems, despite what is going on in the world around them. Everyone hopes they will do the right thing in tough situations, but, especially when one's life or freedom is at stake, rarely do the right thing.

Belmondo is not traditionally handsome, but he plays his character with a very dashing way of carrying himself. It's a style that has been completely stolen from the movies. He models his behavior after the gangsters Humphrey Bogart would play. His tough guy persona hides his insecurities. One of his obvious hang-ups is with his looks, especially when it comes to Patricia. She's most likely the prettiest girl he has ever been with and he is bewitched, but he is also afraid that it isn't real and she will find someone else. He tries to hide his jealousy, but it becomes obvious when he follows her on an interview.

Patricia, on the other hand, is more difficult to read. She is dedicated to living a free life. At one point, she even says the reason she does the reporting jobs is so she will not have to count on a man. However, she is conflicted between this glamorous free lifestyle outside the boundaries of traditional society she has constructed in her head and her love for Michel, which is contrary to everything she wants to be. She is the one unwilling to commit to Michel, who always seems to win her over in the end. Despite discovering Michel's secrets, she doesn't seem to mind. A key scene mirroring this struggle is during her interview with the famed writer (played by Godard), who says that love is the only thing to believe in these days. Take note to how different Patricia's question is compared to all the other interviewers.

In the final moments, Godard collects many visual symbols together, adding emotional power and artistic depth to what could have been a typical tragic scene. And in a bit of misunderstood dialogue, the film becomes even more tragic, because the truth is obscured. If there is any message to be taken from the film, it's that love does conquer all — almost.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks