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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  /  Breathless
Posted by: thegardenstate89 (Guest), January 30th, 2006, 9:28am
Breathless is a film by Jean Luc Godard, if I'm correct it's one of the first films of the French New Wave. Breathless is a french film about a naive young criminal, Michel, who is steals a car and in the process shoots a police officer. He hinds in the apartment of a woman he had previously had sex with. The woman is a beautiful young american student named PAtricia played by Jean Seberg.

During the film, many of the scenes take place between Michel and Patricia in conversation. Besides an intriguing and very offbeat story structure for it's time, it's th editing that makes this movie truely classic. With all of it's jumpcut and very intriguing camera angels it's easy to see why there wouldn't be a tarantino or MTV generation if it weren't for these types of films.

This film broke all the rules of film editing during it's time. The film came out in 1960 and during that time there were certain "rules" set up by hollywood for editing. You had to have a master shot if somebody enter a building and then fade into them walking in the lobby, etc. This film is full of mas en scenes and helps keep a fast pace even if there is a full 15 minutes of pure dialogue.

Michel is a very naive and arrogant criminal. Sometimes it gets almost irritating to watch his character dig himself in a deeper hole. In the beginning his relationship with Patricia is purely psysical, but as a he plans his escape from Paris he's finding it harder to leave her and releases he's falling in love with her. During this time Patricia is being haranged by the police to turn him in if she sees him and her student visa is being threatened. Both characters face moral dilemas that lead to a very dramatic conclusion.

8/10
Posted by: Martin, January 30th, 2006, 9:47am; Reply: 1
Great film. I'm a big Godard fan, his early stuff anyway.

The remake with Richard Gere aint too bad either, but not a patch on the original.
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