À bout de souffle

English title: Breathless

Genre: crime drama (in black and white)

With: Jean-Paul Belmondo (Michel Poiccard, a.k.a. Laszlo Kovacs), Jean Seberg (Patricia Franchini), Daniel Boulanger (Inspector Vital), Henri-Jacques Huet (Antonio Berrutti), Roger Hanin (Carl Zubart)

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Screenplay: François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard

Release: 1960

Studio: Les Films Impéria, Les Productions Georges de Beauregard, Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.6/10 

 

In Memory of Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022) 

 

− Do you know William Faulkner?

− No. Who's he? Have you slept with him? 

 

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Story-line: Michel Poiccard, a hyperactive criminal, steals a car in Marseilles and heads north to meet the American girl of his dreams and collect on an old IOU.

Pluses: a strong, devil-may-care performance by Jean-Paul Belmondo, fine support from Jean Seberg (yes… Jean the film icon!), a tongue-in-cheek screenplay bursting with flippant dialogues and moments of absurdity, Jean-Luc Godard’s nervous and creative direction, lovely cinematography (Raoul Coutard), deft editing (Cécile Decugis) and a swinging jazz score by Martial Solal.

Minuses: although Godard’s works are not among my favourites − years ago, I had quit on this particular movie at the 15-minute mark − I hung on this time around and warmed up to it after a while. Sensitive viewers may be bothered by politically incorrect dialogues and events and also by Michel’s fixation with cigarettes, newspapers, sex and American cars.

Comments: while watching this film, I wondered if it wasn’t some kind of inside joke about conventional French cinema and the rise of the nouvelle vague but I’ll leave that subject to the experts. Many in moviedom have hailed À BOUT DE SOUFFLE as a masterpiece and I can’t deny its audacity, originality and stylishness. Not only does it showcase Michel’s rebellious, ‟in the moment” personality – forever portrayed by Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933-2021), one of France’s biggest stars ever – but it remains to this day a symbol of innovative filmmaking. 

 

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