Jean-Luc Godard’s 1959 film Breathless (or A Bout De Souffle) shocked and undercut the steady flow of generic Hollywood films that had flooded the film industry. It had an unconventional rhythm, choice of artistic representations and a sense of pre post-modernism in which the act of watching and appropriating the movie itself was breaking the boundaries to the public. For background information, Godard was part of a film “troupe” of French cinephiles who were avidly obsessed with cinema. They were frustrated at the chronically unoriginal studio-made films that dominated the industry and so they decided to simply make their own. Godard’s success was in part with his association with Truffaut after his breakthrough feature, 400 Blows. Godard felt as though he could make a film as well.
The end result was a ground-breaking movie which announced a new style of filmmaking and which kick-started the French New Wave Movement into the mainstream.
The discontinuity editing is perhaps the most famous of the film’s visual medium. Although it was due to the fact that the end result of the film was 4 hours long and needed to be cut, it provides a sense of urgency and trepidation to the character’s storylines. For example, the scene in which Michel walks up to Patricia’s apartment is done incredibly rapidly, with a low angle follow shot that is edited to be furiously fast. This could be interpreted as representing the intensity and passion of young love, or it could be used as classical narrative paradigm to suggest that time is running out for Michel. Moreover, whilst some scenes can be disorientating in the way that it’s edited, it all helps to build a visual atmosphere. Whilst the audience can still keep track of the narrative, the editing instils an inconsistent, yet iconic “breathless” style of moving the story along.
In Hollywood movies at that time, takes usually lasted 5-15 seconds with a smooth flow between all of them. In my opinion, it generally resulted in actors chewing the intricately expensive and studio-made scenery. What is amazing about Breathless is that due to the guerrilla- style filmmaking that defines the French New Wave, the audience feels as if Paris is a character of its own. Indeed, sometimes the scenery envelops and dominates the frame rather than the actors. However, Godard revels in this, showing the city under many different visual choices (such as the stunning imagery by night or in the streets). He uses the city as a giant play box which was never done in mainstream films at that time. We can truly enjoy the long takes as the camera can follow the actors but it doesn’t look fake or as if their performances are restricted and we can see that Michel and Patricia have all the space to express their emotions. We can also enjoy the authentic style of the city, which is an icon for romance and young love, therefore giving Godard a perfect backdrop for his narrative.
Another way in which Godard introduced a new style of cinema is the jump cuts paired with irregular use of dialogue. Jump cuts were unheard of in cinema because they seemed to be clunky and they discontinued the illusion of reality that studios strived to achieve. However, it seems that Godard strived to constantly remind the audience that we’re in a movie. For example the scene in which Patricia looks at Michel through the rolled up poster really exposes the effect that we’re placed into a lens. The irregular dialogue and sounds have created a new sound, the film uses the same non-diegetic music throughout the majority of the movie which we can later see in films such as Brazil by Terry Gilliam. Although the jump cuts may seem clunky, they help to further demonstrate the beauty of Paris (when we follow Patricia in Michel’s stolen car). Also it develops a style of irregularity which is consistent with the inconsistency of the characters’ constantly evolving choices and actions. Patricia uncertainty and change of heart clearly illustrates this.
Cinema at that time was a wholly escapist medium, very rarely did characters break the 4th wall or the director acknowledged that the movie was a movie. In a way, the French New Wave laid the foundations for post-modernism. Michel’s constant references to Humphrey Bogart or “Bogey” reminds the audiences of the illusion of cinema. The intertextual references range widely and are sometimes used to advance the narrative (such as when the western playing in the background of Patricia’s escape which is contrapuntal to the action). The thematic of “looking” is ever-present in the film. For instance, there are voyeuristic shot types but also elements in the narrative that seem voyeuristic. The scene in which Patricia is followed by Michel illustrates the need of the characters to interact through the act of seeing, which is the main aspect of their relationship, physical attraction. Both are fetishized in the apartment scene and Michel’s interests around Patricia mostly rely around her physical beauty, the chauvinistic attitudes that he demonstrates about women are only based on beauty rather than self-worth. His crisis in masculinity is evident through his dependence on Patricia and his jealousy at her sleeping with other men. Patricia represents the new wave of liberated women, often eroticized and seen as exotic rather than threatening (much like the Swedish women). Godard’s use of her as an independent character was relatively new in the extremely patriarchal Hollywood system of representing women as either threats (Femme Fatal) or as harmless beauties (damsels in distress).
Godard and Truffaut pay homage to movies through intertextual references but also themes. Film noir and gangster movies are heavily paid tribute to through the character of Michel. He dresses as a sombre criminal and is insistent on living the romanticism similar to Bonnie and Clyde. His obsession with acquiring a “Moll” girl and running away in Rome is almost naïve which provides a binary opposition of himself, he can be sensitive and passionate whilst being the tough gangster that he thinks this is. This crisis in masculinity and complex characteristics was unusual in the film industry. At that time characters were not as developed. The fact that this film isn’t a pre-sold idea is important considering that Hollywood at that time was dominated by films such as Ben-Hur, The Cid or Cinderella amongst others as giant epics were the norm.
Altogether, I believe that Godard completely overturned the classic, well established system of film-making. His use of characterisation and irregular editing gave the movie a style and image that fitted in the theme of the movie. A Bout De Souffle in French is an intense expression which can be synonymous to confusion, chaos, exhaustion or death. These themes are intricately linked through the characters. Breathless and 400 Blows showed that films could be exciting and compelling other than the normal studio system. His iconic visual style helped the movie visually, especially considering the low budget and it created an ambience that most movie-goers were unfamiliar with. Yet this New Wave laid the groundworks for many future artists such as Quentin Tarantino, Terry Gilliam or Martin Scorsese.
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