Movie Notes: Breathless

September 7th, 2009

= 5 stars

Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

Synopsis

Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) commits a crime and goes on the run with an American girl, Patricia (Jean Seberg).

The Good

• Exhudes cool from every pore, from the jazzy soundtrack, the dark sunglasses the main characters don, the cars, but overall, the way the entire film feels like a lark, a game of improvisation with the camera to where it all seems unscripted.
• A rebellion against everything a movie technically should be, namely, scripting, pre-planning, and doing everything on a Hollywood set. Many scenes look like guerilla filmmaking here, in public, amid moving cars.
• Audacious, often random jump cuts indicate a passage of time but also a free, rebellious attitude that fits in perfectly with the story of two reckless youth on the run.
• The rough, abrasive Belmondo — with cigarette constantly hanging from one lip — is a great contrast to the tomboyish, Grace Kelly-esque Seberg.
• The final scene following Michel down a street and a close up on Patricia is an amazing example of avoiding particular types of shots through an entire film until one pivotal moment.

The Bad

• Definitely low-budget and unpolished. I admit to preferring the bright colors and more careful, posed cinematography of Pierrot Le Fou.

Conclusion

Breathless is a gutsy, provocative break from the style of movie that preceded, and I can see its influence scattered among so many movies since.

I do think movies have actually returned in some ways to the heavily scripted, heavily planned (CGI cannot be improvisatory) sort of film Breathless was such a contrast to back in 1960. So this fifty year old, black and white film, still felt very fresh and reckless today, to me.

This is one movie that’s been on my must-see list for years. Within the first half hour I felt like an idiot for waiting so long.

IMDB: Breathless
Wikipedia: Breathless
Rotten Tomatoes: Breathless 96%