Jean Luc Godard's, Breathless was filmed during the French New Wave. The French New Wave began during the 1950’s and used influences from Italian Realism and Classical Hollywood Cinema as well as some new techniques. The movement used methods such as long shots and jump shots and was usually low budget. The French New Wave Films, such as Breathless, used a variety of genres. Breathless was an entertaining movie that kept my attention. The movie skipped around to different types of scenes often. The movie showed violence, action, sex, love, betrayal, lust, jealousy. Every scene was different. The movie began with the mad murdering, stealing, and lying. As the movie progresses we begin to see another side, his love as well as lust for the woman. The woman is unsure if she loves his back and contemplates this for most of the movie. Once she is aware that the police are after him for the murder of another police, she covers for him, but later when she realizes she does not love him, then she betrays him and tells the police where he is. In the beginning of the movie the man is the “bad” boy who steals, lies, and murders and the girl is the nice girl that works and is independent and refuses to sleep with him. As the movie progresses, the man falls in love with her and the woman sleeps with him, lies for him, and then betrays him. The movie displays many different moods. The French New Wave is known for changing scenes rapidly. Breathless portrays this very well. The jump shots occurred throughout the movie. There would be a normal scene where the man and woman are talking then jump to a murder or stealing scene and then the man would go back to the woman like nothing happened. This movie is a very good example of the French New Wave. Crystal McCord
Breathless tells the story of an American woman named Patricia; very naïve yet “independent” as she claims, who goes to Paris to study journalism and spends most of her time passing out the “New York Herald Tribune” on the streets of Paris. There, she reconnects with a man named Michel who finds himself on the run after shooting and killing a police officer. Most of the movie is spent following Michel and Patricia’s relationship, almost like a documentary. It is one of 3 films that kick off the start of the French New Wave or “Nouvelle Vague” era during the 1950s, where films tended to focus more on being “individual, different, and unique” from Classical Hollywood Cinema.
During the New Wave Movement, many directors focused their energies on making their films more “artful” in their experimentation with different film techniques and editing styles. In Breathless, Jean Luc Goddard used what would be considered characteristics of the New Wave era. In scenes such as the one of Michel dropping Patricia off for her meeting with her agent, Goddard uses a technique called “jump cuts” (a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly from the previous shot) when Michel is describing the beautiful parts of Patricia’s body. Also, Goddard uses tracking shots that make the film look like a sort of documentary, such as Michel’s drive in the opening of the film in which the camera is positioned behind the dashboard to see what a would be passenger would see if they were in the car.
Such bold and “off the cuff” techniques were used to sort of separate these new “Art Films” from what some directors considered at the time to be the “mundane Hollywood model”. In this case it worked fairly well. Breathless was a very different film from anything we've seen in class and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
The movie was a about a scammer named Michel who shot a cop and was wanted for murder, and a woman named Patricia who worked for a journalist company and was very independent and was unsure about who to love and who not to love. Here were a lot of mixed signals, mixed emotions, unresolved feelings. Michel was rude, arrogant, disrespectful, a common thief, a lover, insane and had no manners. He stole and tried to scam people for money in order to make a living. Like him and every other Frenchmen at that time he was very casual with sex and would openly talked about girls he had had sex with others. He smokes cigar after cigar like there is no tomorrow, and he wipes his lip ever so often to symbolize disgust. He also kept asking Patricia to come to Paris with him and gave her pet names like kiddo and poppet. Patricia was a well rounded person and even though she had a job didn’t seem to be affected by poverty like Michel was. She was a very independent woman who needed no man to live or survive as she so vividly stated once to Michel. She seemed to me to be very confused about everything and had no set decisions or emotions about anything to deal with her love life. An example would be when she said she was thinking and when she was asked what she was thinking about she said she didn’t know. The movie Breathless was filmed during the French new wave in 1950’s. It included different traits from Italian realism and CHC as well as some modern techniques used today like jump shots. Like most movies in this era this one was a low budget yet very well edited. French new wave films were usually romance or action based or a combination of both. A perfect example would be this movie Breathless. In comparison to the movie The Bicycle Thief, this movie included long shot scenes but unlike The Bicycle Thief there were not many. A prime example would be Michel walking to visit Patricia while she was at work on the street and talking to her for about 3-5minutes or more before he decided to leave her to go make a call to see if he would get his money and meet her later that night. The one thing this movie does have in contrast to The Bicycle Thief is a lot of Jump Shots/Jump Cuts throughout the movie. A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same person or target are taken from slightly different camera positions. This makes the object or target simultaneously move back and forth within the same area in different scenes without having to move the camera. An example would be when Michel took the car in to try and sell it then decided to go make a phone call. In that scene jump shots were used to show Miguel using the phone, and the engineer taking of starter cap out of his car. Then it was used again to show him trying to steal after making his call.
Breathless is full of different editing techniques (such as jump cuts, close-ups, the use of angles and depth of field) that allows the viewer to experience this film on many levels. The viewer is able to have a better understanding of the film and identify the relationship, along with any emotions the characters may feel. The use of close-ups allows one to look a little deeper while giving us a chance to see the relationship that the two posse. On first glimpse one may not notice the chemistry of the two characters but are able to identify the characteristic of the character. For instance Michel is this common thief who is outspoken, arrogant, ruthless and emotionally connected a young American girl. While Patricia Franchini is this young American girl studying journalism who is optimistic, confused, self conscience and naïve. However as the film continues, in my opinion you start to notice that Michel and Patricia actually balance each other out. I like that fact that any major conflict or thought the character may have is easily identifiable because use of sudden close-ups. The use of soviet montage was a great approach to this film.
The movie Bresthles is about a man by the name of Michel who has killed an policeman who catches him after stealing a car. Michel has fallen for this american women and tryies to convince her to move to Italy with him after he collects his debt. Threwought the movie she does not know that the police is looking for and what he has done. Once the police approaches her and tells tells her the situation,she turns him in to the police. Michel feels potrayed and tells the girl after he gets shot that she makes him wanna puke. The movie portays French New Wave which is a combination of techniques. Scences were changing quickly from long shots to long shots and different things were going on at the same time within the movie. These are all examples of the French wave. Also the angle of the shots were different. For example in the begininng of the movie when Michel was driving, the way the movie was filmed it look the audience was behind the wheel as well. In adition jump shots were in this film alot. One scence would be with him and the girl and then it would jump straight into a scence with just him doing something. The movie is a very boring movie, however I did see alot of things that we have discussed in class in this movie. The French wave,jump shots, and the way scenes were shot were just a couple of things seen threwought this film. Overall im glad I watched the movie because it related to the class.
Your in depth description of Goddard's film "Breathless" pretty much sums up the editing style and techniques used throughout the film. You mention the films use of documentary style shooting while Michel is driving the car, the scene that comes to mind is the way the camera follows Michele and Patricia are walking on the sidewalk and people who may or may not be aware that a film is being made, walk in between them and look into the camera as if Goddard was crazy.
I don’t think Michel necessarily feels betrayed, I think it more has to do with their inside joke, I believe he said that to her somewhere in the middle of the film as well. There is some anger in him, but I think he knew she had the power to betray him up to that point because she had already called the police. Michel knew what to expect of her, but I don’t think he completely held it against her after all he is the one who committed the crime.
In French New wave it was about experimentation and different shot styles and cuts. As a French new wave film it appealed more to the youth and using different shots and cuts are done to put the story together. In some ways the film was boring, but I think it captured my attention because it was such a different type of film, in story and shooting.
my paragraphs are all off :(
ReplyDeleteKimberly Lee
Jean Luc Godard's, Breathless was filmed during the French New Wave. The French New Wave began during the 1950’s and used influences from Italian Realism and Classical Hollywood Cinema as well as some new techniques. The movement used methods such as long shots and jump shots and was usually low budget. The French New Wave Films, such as Breathless, used a variety of genres.
ReplyDeleteBreathless was an entertaining movie that kept my attention. The movie skipped around to different types of scenes often. The movie showed violence, action, sex, love, betrayal, lust, jealousy. Every scene was different. The movie began with the mad murdering, stealing, and lying. As the movie progresses we begin to see another side, his love as well as lust for the woman. The woman is unsure if she loves his back and contemplates this for most of the movie. Once she is aware that the police are after him for the murder of another police, she covers for him, but later when she realizes she does not love him, then she betrays him and tells the police where he is. In the beginning of the movie the man is the “bad” boy who steals, lies, and murders and the girl is the nice girl that works and is independent and refuses to sleep with him. As the movie progresses, the man falls in love with her and the woman sleeps with him, lies for him, and then betrays him.
The movie displays many different moods. The French New Wave is known for changing scenes rapidly. Breathless portrays this very well. The jump shots occurred throughout the movie. There would be a normal scene where the man and woman are talking then jump to a murder or stealing scene and then the man would go back to the woman like nothing happened. This movie is a very good example of the French New Wave.
Crystal McCord
Breathless tells the story of an American woman named Patricia; very naïve yet “independent” as she claims, who goes to Paris to study journalism and spends most of her time passing out the “New York Herald Tribune” on the streets of Paris. There, she reconnects with a man named Michel who finds himself on the run after shooting and killing a police officer. Most of the movie is spent following Michel and Patricia’s relationship, almost like a documentary. It is one of 3 films that kick off the start of the French New Wave or “Nouvelle Vague” era during the 1950s, where films tended to focus more on being “individual, different, and unique” from Classical Hollywood Cinema.
ReplyDeleteDuring the New Wave Movement, many directors focused their energies on making their films more “artful” in their experimentation with different film techniques and editing styles.
In Breathless, Jean Luc Goddard used what would be considered characteristics of the New Wave era. In scenes such as the one of Michel dropping Patricia off for her meeting with her agent, Goddard uses a technique called “jump cuts” (a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly from the previous shot) when Michel is describing the beautiful parts of Patricia’s body. Also, Goddard uses tracking shots that make the film look like a sort of documentary, such as Michel’s drive in the opening of the film in which the camera is positioned behind the dashboard to see what a would be passenger would see if they were in the car.
Such bold and “off the cuff” techniques were used to sort of separate these new “Art Films” from what some directors considered at the time to be the “mundane Hollywood model”. In this case it worked fairly well. Breathless was a very different film from anything we've seen in class and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Briana O.
The movie was a about a scammer named Michel who shot a cop and was wanted for murder, and a woman named Patricia who worked for a journalist company and was very independent and was unsure about who to love and who not to love. Here were a lot of mixed signals, mixed emotions, unresolved feelings. Michel was rude, arrogant, disrespectful, a common thief, a lover, insane and had no manners. He stole and tried to scam people for money in order to make a living. Like him and every other Frenchmen at that time he was very casual with sex and would openly talked about girls he had had sex with others. He smokes cigar after cigar like there is no tomorrow, and he wipes his lip ever so often to symbolize disgust. He also kept asking Patricia to come to Paris with him and gave her pet names like kiddo and poppet. Patricia was a well rounded person and even though she had a job didn’t seem to be affected by poverty like Michel was. She was a very independent woman who needed no man to live or survive as she so vividly stated once to Michel. She seemed to me to be very confused about everything and had no set decisions or emotions about anything to deal with her love life. An example would be when she said she was thinking and when she was asked what she was thinking about she said she didn’t know.
ReplyDeleteThe movie Breathless was filmed during the French new wave in 1950’s. It included different traits from Italian realism and CHC as well as some modern techniques used today like jump shots. Like most movies in this era this one was a low budget yet very well edited. French new wave films were usually romance or action based or a combination of both. A perfect example would be this movie Breathless.
In comparison to the movie The Bicycle Thief, this movie included long shot scenes but unlike The Bicycle Thief there were not many. A prime example would be Michel walking to visit Patricia while she was at work on the street and talking to her for about 3-5minutes or more before he decided to leave her to go make a call to see if he would get his money and meet her later that night. The one thing this movie does have in contrast to The Bicycle Thief is a lot of Jump Shots/Jump Cuts throughout the movie. A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same person or target are taken from slightly different camera positions. This makes the object or target simultaneously move back and forth within the same area in different scenes without having to move the camera. An example would be when Michel took the car in to try and sell it then decided to go make a phone call. In that scene jump shots were used to show Miguel using the phone, and the engineer taking of starter cap out of his car. Then it was used again to show him trying to steal after making his call.
Kelvin .K. Kotey
Breathless is full of different editing techniques (such as jump cuts, close-ups, the use of angles and depth of field) that allows the viewer to experience this film on many levels. The viewer is able to have a better understanding of the film and identify the relationship, along with any emotions the characters may feel. The use of close-ups allows one to look a little deeper while giving us a chance to see the relationship that the two posse. On first glimpse one may not notice the chemistry of the two characters but are able to identify the characteristic of the character. For instance Michel is this common thief who is outspoken, arrogant, ruthless and emotionally connected a young American girl. While Patricia Franchini is this young American girl studying journalism who is optimistic, confused, self conscience and naïve.
ReplyDeleteHowever as the film continues, in my opinion you start to notice that Michel and Patricia actually balance each other out. I like that fact that any major conflict or thought the character may have is easily identifiable because use of sudden close-ups. The use of soviet montage was a great approach to this film.
Romonda L.
Anonymous Said...
ReplyDeleteThe movie Bresthles is about a man by the name of Michel who has killed an policeman who catches him after stealing a car. Michel has fallen for this american women and tryies to convince her to move to Italy with him after he collects his debt. Threwought the movie she does not know that the police is looking for and what he has done. Once the police approaches her and tells tells her the situation,she turns him in to the police. Michel feels potrayed and tells the girl after he gets shot that she makes him wanna puke.
The movie portays French New Wave which is a combination of techniques. Scences were changing quickly from long shots to long shots and different things were going on at the same time within the movie. These are all examples of the French wave. Also the angle of the shots were different. For example in the begininng of the movie when Michel was driving, the way the movie was filmed it look the audience was behind the wheel as well. In adition jump shots were in this film alot. One scence would be with him and the girl and then it would jump straight into a scence with just him doing something.
The movie is a very boring movie, however I did see alot of things that we have discussed in class in this movie. The French wave,jump shots, and the way scenes were shot were just a couple of things seen threwought this film. Overall im glad I watched the movie because it related to the class.
Phikala Morehead
In response to Briana O.
ReplyDeleteYour in depth description of Goddard's film "Breathless" pretty much sums up the editing style and techniques used throughout the film. You mention the films use of documentary style shooting while Michel is driving the car, the scene that comes to mind is the way the camera follows Michele and Patricia are walking on the sidewalk and people who may or may not be aware that a film is being made, walk in between them and look into the camera as if Goddard was crazy.
-Robyn R.
In response to Phikala Morehead
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Michel necessarily feels betrayed, I think it more has to do with their inside joke, I believe he said that to her somewhere in the middle of the film as well. There is some anger in him, but I think he knew she had the power to betray him up to that point because she had already called the police. Michel knew what to expect of her, but I don’t think he completely held it against her after all he is the one who committed the crime.
In French New wave it was about experimentation and different shot styles and cuts. As a French new wave film it appealed more to the youth and using different shots and cuts are done to put the story together. In some ways the film was boring, but I think it captured my attention because it was such a different type of film, in story and shooting.
-A’Sheana White