Breathless
八月 09, 2017
Breathless
is a French film, known as A bout de souffle, written and directed by Jean-Luc
Godard in 1960. It was Godard’s first feature length work, starring Jean-Paul
Belmondo, as a wandering criminal and Jean Seberg as his girlfriend from
America. There is a restored version of this film was released in United State
for its 50th anniversary. Breathless is one of the most influential
examples of French New Wave, known as Nouvelle Vague. It brought international
acclaim to this new trend of French filmmaking. French New Wave is the topic we
will discuss about.
French New
Wave is a film movement, coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers,
which started in 1959 with Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard, and it ended in 1969,
possibly with Weekend by the same director, Jean-Luc Godard. Before
1950s & 1960s, French films were mainly literary adaptations, for example,
fictional tales published in books and adapted to cinema. The films were
usually filmed within the studio system, producing in big budget and international
co-productions. French New Wave filmmakers were reject the literary period
pieces being made in France and written by novelists, they desire to shoot more
current social issues on location as it was influenced by Italian Neorealism.
On the account of economic troubles of a post World War II, the French New Wave
films are independent and sought low budget alternatives to usual production
methods, often shot in a friend’s apartment or yard, the cost of film always a
major concern. It turns out the plot and dialogue has to improvise and also the
equipment – rapidly changes of scene, and break the rule of 180 degree of
camera movement.
Michel is a youthful criminal. After stealing a car, he
shoots and kills a policeman because he follows Michel onto a country road. After
escaping from the police, he returns to his girlfriend, Patricia, who is a
student and journalist, sells the New York Herald Tribune in Paris. She hides
Michel in her apartment unwittingly, as he keeps trying to seduce her and ask
her for a loan to escape to Italy. She says she is pregnant, probably his kid. She
finds out Michel is actually escaping after being questioning by policemen. She
tells Michel she has told the police about him before police arrive. He does
not try to run at first, even though he is resigned to a life in prison. The policemen
shoot him in the street, he out of breath after prolonged death run.
First of all, it is shot on location which means they
never shoot in a studio, and never clear the spot for shooting. We can see
that, the passerby was looking at the camera. After Michel stole the car, he
drives the car to Paris immediately.
Second, the sign of strong role is referring to
Patricia. She does not care about Michel or anyone, even her chaser. She is
ambitious and independent; she never depends on others even her apartment is
belonging to her. Even Michel strangle her to force to smile, she doesn’t even
scare. When Michel keeps asking her to
near him, she keep rejecting. When the policemen come to her and ask her about
Michel, she did not lie to cop. In another way, ultimately choose own destiny
with guiltiness.
For the jump cuts, it can be seen in the restaurant
when Patricia is together with an American guy, a chaser of her. Probably the
dialogue is too long and it is a one shot, the director decided to cut the
blanky times and making it become shorter.
Most of the film is about the long takes, like in the apartment,
about the detectives, the first apartment, at the bank and he gets shot at the
end. In the apartment, they have a very very very…… long dialogue, and it is
all about he keep seducing her and ask her to go Rome or Italy with him, with
some little thingy. While in the first apartment, it is shorter, because his
aim is stealing the girl’s money. At the last scene, Michel keeps running after
getting shot. That is a long take on his running.
The direct sound – when Patricia and Michel were
talking in room, the police car sound appear. When they are talking in the
street, the crowded sound was recorded in the film too. For handheld camera, it
might used in the whole film because the camera shot is not stable when the
camera shot is not moving. When Michel gets shot, the camera movement is shaky
and try to follow up Michel. There is another shot which is tracking shot. This
shot technique was used when Michel is leaving the telephone booth.
Now, comes to my conclusion. Instead of conclusion, it
is more after thought for the film. It is so “deep”. I feel like I could not
really get what the director want to share about the film.
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