Breathless

What is difficult is to advance into unknown lands, to be aware of the danger, to take risks, to be afraid. (Jean-Luc Godard)

"Breathless" is probably, along with "Citizen Kane", the most important debut of any filmmaker. It's not just a film about youth, it's a youthful film, it's about the adventure, taking caution against the wind, it's about something new, cool, and exciting.

"Breathless" was the first film by Jean-Luc Godard, who was part of the French New Wave group of film critics. These critics turned to filmmakers who included Francois Truffaut, Alain Renais, Eric Rohmer, and Claude Chabrol. Godard was the odd man out, the loner, he was the last of the group to make a feature film, he considered his job as a movie critic as that of a filmmaker but without a camera.

While it's true, "Breathless" wasn't the first film by a French New Wave filmmaker, it is often mistaken as the first one. The reason behind this I think is it represented everything new in cinema that the new wavers were talking about, in his film Godard encapsulated a film revolution that was happening, and people were taking notice.

"Breathless" takes elements from genre film, in this case the film noir (with a particular nod to Nicholas Ray's "They Live By Night"). What Godard does is take the elements of this genre and frees them up, outside of Hollywood conventions and creates a new look, and a new feel for it.

The story begins with Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a small time crook who steals a car, gets chased by police, and ends up killing a cop. He flees to Paris where he runs into an old lover Patricia (Jean Seberg). Patricia is a New Yorker working in Paris as a journalist, Michel wants to take her away with him to Italy where they can live, she is hesitant. This type of scenario is common in any type of crime drama, I don't remember if it was Godard or Truffaut who said it, but they believed the only thing you needed for a film was a guy, a girl, and a gun, and this is basically what "Breathless" has for its story.

But the film is a love letter to the romantic couple, in this case Michel and Patricia, there are even references to Romeo and Juliet who were the first romantic couple. Michel and Patricia are people who live in the moment, they don't think ahead, they don't care about the consequences of their actions, they are in love with eachother, but they know they shouldn't be (at least Patricia knows this). Michel is a young thug who probably isn't as tough as he pretends to be. He pictures himself as Humphrey Bogart, as he sees a picture of his idol outside a movie theatre. Patricia is more the intellectual, she's a journalist, she's more cultured, more attuned with the world, she can probably see her life without Michel. We find out she was in love with another fellow journalist, and in a press conference with a famous poet (Jean-Pierre Melville), she seems to enjoy his flirtations.

Michel and Patricia both have romantic flaws, and they may be aware of this, which gives the film it's inevitable tragic finale. Michel often thinks of death and describes himself being "tired". Patricia is compared by a colleague to a young girl who kills herself, she is not sure if she will turn out like this young girl.

With most of his films, leading up to "Weekend" in 1967, Godard often focuses on disaffected, or disillusioned youth. His characters are usually romantically, or politically charged, and it often leads to a tragic turn. But perhaps no other couple in Godard's universe are as fondly remembered as Michel and Patricia, perhaps because they are his first romantic couple. They represent the rebellion and exuberance that Godard demonstrated in this film. The most memorable scenes in the film come in Patricia's bedroom, where she and Michel stay for almost a third of the movie. Here Godard stops the movie, for twenty minutes, we forget Michel is wanted by the police, for that moment there are only two people who are important in the universe, it is where film is used as passing time between these two people who are in love.

So why is "Breathless" the most important debut for a filmmaker since "Citizen Kane"? I have listed my reasons above, it's a youthful film, it remains that, Godard has taken his lessons from film criticism and applied them to a new approach in filmmaking. Godard wasn't the first person to use jump cuts in his films, but he was the first one to make them stand out as they do, Godard threw continuity out the window by doing this, he was playing with audience expectations. Some critics of Godard have said his techniques were merely a novelty, however I would argue they had a purpose, they were there to create a new impulse in the viewer, a new way to react to a familiar scene. In this way, Godard was re-writing film language, and you can see his influence in the next generation of film students, perhaps most prominently in Scorsese films.

"Breathless" is a film that is aware of itself, so in this way, it's a romantic film that's ironic since it knows it's a romantic film. I suppose you could say, Godard's cinema was in fact all self-awareness. For him film was his way to discuss his own theories or philosophy. After "Breathless", Godard would move farther and farther away from linear storytelling in his films, until "Weekend" where he famously declared cinema is dead. Between "Breathless" in 1960 to "Weekend" in 1967, he made 15 films, they were all bold, experimental, radical, and youthful, I still feel cinema hasn't caught up with what he accomplished in those short years.

I'm not sure if "Breathless" is my favorite Godard film, of course, my favorite Godard film is usually the one I'm watching at the moment. I will say "Breathless" is the perfect start for the beginner, like every great film, it makes you think you're experiencing movies for the first time, and no matter how many times you've seen it, that feeling never fades away.