Breathless is a French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc
Godard and written by Francois Truffaut. The film is about a French car thief
who kills a cop, meets up with an American ex-lover who turns him in, and dies
by a gunshot wound to the back. The film’s main character, Michel, is not very
likable. He steals from his friends, treats the girl he loves poorly and he’s a
murderer to boot. It may have been a mark of the era that the man was so misogynistic,
but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it. The scene where Michel is trying
to get Patricia to sleep with him got stale very quickly.
However, it is clear that there is immense symbolism and
artistry to be conveyed in some of the scenes. For example, when Patricia and
Michel talk independently of each other without acknowledging what the other is
saying, conveys symbolically the main conflict in their relationship; that is
very clever.
The tempo of the music seemed to match the tone of the scene and may be stylistic attribute of French New Wave films. The breaking of the 180 line rule, though intentional, is confusing to the placement of things as an audience member. The shots that continued following a character when they went from one scene to another is much more effective than cutting to footage in a new scene because it gave a clear sense of the journey that an actual person would have to take to get from one place to another. The same thing is true with the overhead shots that followed a characters motion. Both were greatly appreciated.
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