Review of Breathless (2009) by Justin M — 03 Aug 2009

I enjoyed the end of this film much more than the first 2/3. After sticking with it, you begin to see what Godard was trying to do, but I don't see the film as completely successful. The plot of Breathless is very much inspired by 40's and 50's noir style gangster flicks, and this is evident in the heavy references to Humphrey Bogart throughout the movie.

But a primary concern of Godard seems to be to break convention. This is evidenced by the heavy use of jump cuts and innovative editing, something that gave the movie much acclaim upon its release. At this point my interpretation is that Michel is somebody who lives for movies and film, who fancys himself as Bogart and Patricia as his Ingrid Bergman.

In the end, though, this fantasy is unable to survive in the real world. The famous line "to become immortal and then die" makes sense in this respect, in that he builds himself up through his bravado to be indestructible, yet this is only fantasy.

When he is inevitably betrayed, he wants to go to prison, to sleep, to die. Yet love still remains. The ending is lost in the translation a bit, but he doesn't blame Patricia, or even himself, but sees it more as the way of the world.

Informers inform, burglars burgle, murderers murder, lovers love. The heartbreaking misquote by the detective is, ironically, what Patricia wanted- a Romeo and Juliet ending, a bitter miscommunication between young lovers.

All of that is well done and really interesting, but it only comes together in the end, and only if you've been paying attention the entire time. I also feel that from a filmmaking standpoint the jump cuts are more of a cool experiment than anything really revolutionary, although I give Godard credit for challenging convention.

And for all the faults I have with it, its still only Godard's first film, which is simply incredible. Of course I leave open the fact that I'm so conditioned by more conventional filmmaking that Breathless will require a reappraisal at some point in the future, but for now thats where I stand on it.