Breathless (2006)

Wonderful Movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Breathless seems to have lost some of its critical standing recently, but it is still a really good film. It isn't really a film about anything much aside from a criminal who killed a policeman trying to persuade a student to run away with him, so in terms of story it might not rivet certain viewers. However, this is the work of an auteur at the very top of his game. Jean-Luc Goddard's direction is brilliant and he fills the film completely with a sheer, overwhelming energy that shatters cinematic conventions. The main character is unlikable but always compelling and Breathless, both in aesthetic and narrative terms, is a glorious example of rebellion and breaking free. It's a seriously cool movie and a genuinely hypnotic experience. Unfortunately, it's not quite a 5 star movie. The film sags in the middle during a drawn-out sequence in a hotel room with the 2 main characters talking endlessly about whether or not they're going to have sex, but after that the film picks up again. It is admittedly more an important film than a great one, but it is still a really good film and a highly interesting piece of film history. 8/10

A character study about Michel ( Jean-Paul Belmondo ), a young criminal who acts tough and tries to be like Bogart, and Patricia (Jean Seberg), an American who sells the New York Herald- Tribune. Patricia's involvement with him seems to be purely because of her curiosity towards his affection and his strange, comical behavior almost identical to the one which is shown again in "Pierrot le Fou". Jean Seberg's acting is ridiculously dull and her expressions throughout the film are almost as uneventful as the plot of the film itself. Jean- Paul Belmondo's acting on the other hand, although full of style is still unconvincing. You cant really blame him though, his character's persona is just not in any way believable. The level of detachment and obliviousness is simply too extreme. The Film's music is also absolutely horrendous, I doubt I could recall a movie that has a genuinely worse soundtrack.However, the truly disgusting thing about this movie, is the amount of jump cuts Godard forcibly tries to stuff down our throat, it makes me wonder whether the films last lines were really referring to Godard himself.Out of boredom ( due to the films basically non-existent plot ) I couldn't help but resort to wondering whether these extremely disturbing 'jumpcuts' were necessary. The answer, which is also the answer to most French New Wave films is yes and no. If the film did not contain these 'jump cuts', many of them purposely used in the most unconventional way possible, the film would not have its historical importance and status of being revolutionary. The jumps cuts in this Film have no real purpose other than to rebel against cinema norms at the time and attract attention as a result. In other words there was no 'message', 'deeper meaning' or even aesthetic purpose behind them. Its only purpose was to distinguish this film, which without all its pretentious bull would be no more than a boring, poorly written and poorly acted character study, from all the other boring, poorly written and poorly acted character studies. The Film instead is a NEW, DIFFERENT and MODERN boring, poorly written and poorly acted character study. These days the film is met with enthusiasm, mainly because without objective standards, style is valued over substance and originality is valued over genuine merit. Although you cannot deny the historical importance of this film as a cinematic landmark, you can definitely question it. There's no harm in rebelling against norms to create effect but never at the expense of overall enjoyment. Breathless however, simply rebels for shock value and to standout as something new, different and as most New Wave fans would put it 'Bold.'

Since there have been a great many conventional reviews of this movie (far more positive than negative), I will address a criticism, that we often praise things that are groundbreaking, even when they are not that good. What, of course, is "that good"? This is by all accounts a simple story. A sociopathic young man kills a cop and feels nothing. This film pretty much made Jean-Paul Belmondo, who muscles his way through life, finding pleasure, while he is being pursued. His bad boy charm attracts the young female and she becomes embroiled in his impulsiveness. There is a love story here but there can be nothing but pain. Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful memory was created here. One could say that D. W. Griffith films are not as good as modern films on the same themes because they were silent and not in color. Even though the jump cuts and other fundamentals of filmmaking were introduced (or at least enhanced) in the French New Wave, there are those who criticize this film for being uninspired and repetitive. While it's hard to have sympathy with the two principles in this film, it does present a dizzying ride.

Jean-Luc Godard is one of the French New Wave directors who, as critics in the 1950s, had been regular contributors to the influential publication "Cahiers Du Cinema". As a group, they were disenchanted with the output of the French film industry at that time and believed that by putting the director at the centre of the creative process and dispensing with traditional narrative conventions, a far more imaginative style of filmmaking could be achieved. In his first film, Godard sought to achieve this by a variety of means which included, borrowing from some earlier cinematic styles that he admired.In "Breathless" ("A Bout De Soufflé"), a simple film noir plot is presented in a style that owes much to the influence of the Italian Neo-Realists (e.g. filming on location, use of hand-held cameras and improvised dialogue). Additionally, by using unorthodox techniques such as "jump cuts" and getting characters to look directly into the camera and then injecting the action with great pace, the result is a movie that looks vibrant, spontaneous and highly energetic.At the time of its release, few could have imagined the impact that "Breathless" would have on filmmaking in general or the profound influence it would subsequently have on numerous directors such as John Cassavetes, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a small-time criminal who after stealing a car in Marseilles and killing a motorcycle cop, makes his way to Paris to collect some money that he's owed and reunite with one of his girlfriends called Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg). Patricia's an American student who has aspirations to become a journalist and earns some money by selling the "New York Herald-Tribune" on the Champs Elysees. Michel wants to escape to Italy as soon as he can collect his money and wants Patricia to go with him but she tells him that she can't leave Paris for financial reasons.Michel spends his time in Paris sharing Patricia's hotel room and the couple talk a great deal about life and love whilst Michel also tries relentlessly to seduce her. Despite the seriousness of his crimes, Michel seems very unconcerned about the situation he's in and if he does feel desperate, certainly hides it well beneath a façade of being super-cool. He's totally amoral and an inveterate thief but is also very preoccupied with trying to emulate the mannerisms of his hero, Humphrey Bogart.Patricia is a cold character who's fascinated by Michel's lifestyle but always remains emotionally detached even when they seem to be at their closest. Things get increasingly complicated for Michel as the police manhunt intensifies but eventually matters are brought to a head by a simple action that's incredibly casual, uncaring and self-serving.French New Wave directors Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Jean-Pierre Melville all contributed in different ways to the making of this movie and Alain Resnais' "Hiroshima Mon Amour" (1959) is just one of a whole collection of other films and filmmakers that are referenced. Amusingly, Michel's alias in the movie is Laszlo Kovacs and he also uses some of Humphrey Bogart's photos outside a cinema that's showing "The Harder They Fall" (1956) to perfect his attempt to look and act as much like Bogey as possible.In retrospect, it's no exaggeration to describe "Breathless" as a masterpiece because its exhilarating combination of originality, freshness and sheer enthusiasm was genuinely revolutionary when it was made and it became an incredibly rich source of inspiration to other filmmakers in the years that followed.