This is pretty much my favourite movie of all time. The kind of film that, if in some unusual twist of fate, I was only allowed to watch one film for the rest of my life, would be totally fine. That or the Dreamers. But that's another post.
Breathless is the most famous work of Jean-Luc Godard, who defines French new wave cinema. That means: jump cut, black and white, good music. Like most French films, there's a love triangle (two guys and one girl, always), a cute girl with an excellent haircut and style (here it's Jean Seberg). The iconic scene where Seberg wanders down the Champs Elysees selling newspapers, crying "New York Herald Tribune!" in the perfect cropped pants and ballet flats combo.
The film, which is called A Bout de Souffle in French, follows the exploits of one Michel, who is a thief. And super hot. So, he rekindles a romance with Patricia, an American living in Paris and tries to escape the police as they track him down for a murder he has committed. But, to be honest, it's more about the visual aspect than the plot - it's all studio apartments, white sheets, wandering romance and cute dresses. And Paris, and betrayal (Patricia totally rats him out!). And Michel's fascination with American movies, especially Humphrey Bogart, his idol. And Godard's cinematic genius.
Zoe wrote a post earlier this month about Anna Karina in Une Femme est Une Femme, another Godard film you should see as soon as humanly possible.
