"Shall we steal a Cadillac?"
#43 on Berken's Favorite Movies Of All Time

Ultimately, reviewing movies is a personal and subjective enterprise and so I should be forthright - I'm fascinated and even enthralled by Breathless' world view and, as such, I can only review it from the perspective of the choir it's preaching to, not the orthodoxy it rallies against. Most would argue that youth is wasted on the young; here, however, Godard uses the wondering eye of his camera lens to argue instead that only the young understand youth's true appeal - how it is simultaneously weightless and weighty to those lost in the moment and how it can feel eternal, even when it's anything but.

Still, this…

Part of Humble Beginnings

Judged separately from its historical context, 'A bout de souffle' is a film that at first glance seems shallow and uneven. And while that may certainly be the case for the plot and the narrative structure, it is what it represents that makes Godard's debut so extraordinary.

This is an act of rebellion. An attempt to change the face of cinema by creating something that takes all the rules of filmmaking adhered to thus far and bend them and sometimes break them. It's anarchic, an exercise in experimental style, yet always remaining an ode to the thing its director loved so much, Cinema.

I have always considered myself lucky as I usually can appreciate the impact…

Well, that was nowhere near as snooty or pretentious as I had feared (or maybe I'm just more snooty or pretentious than I previously assumed). Unlike my disappointing reaction to Bicycle Thieves, Breathless is either a film style I'm more comfortable with, a story more personally satisfying, or both. It worked for me outside of its cultural significance, and, as my puny brain is still stuck in the "film as escapism" phase, has an almost fantastical feel to it; it plays almost like a fairy tale film noir. There are no overlong philosophical quandaries (at least, ones forced on the viewer), and Godard doesn't appear to have the 'look-at-me' attitude that it sounds like he develops later or that a…

Not sure what took me so long to get to this one, but hot damn, what a freaking fun movie.

It's frenetic and kind of insane, even when it's just the two fantastic lead characters sitting in a room staring at each other, which is an impressive feat indeed. A lot of that has to do with how the film is cut, with the abrupt jumps in many places (there were a few times where it was kind of jolting) and the what feels like improvised dialogue (I know it was not).

All of that makes for such a fun ride that is only heightened by the brilliant performance by Belmondo as the charismatic thug. How he nonchalantly meanders around…

Part of my Around the World in May-ty Days list

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I'm trying to find out what it is I like about you - Patricia

I've been staring at my computer screen for about 10 minutes now trying to come up with something to say about this movie, to express exactly why this movie was so enjoyable.

Maybe it was the energy that was present throughout the film, kept in the film by some unconventional editing and some anarchic shooting techniques (look at any shot done outside and watch the crowds). Maybe it was the chemistry between Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. Maybe it was the willful abandon that Michel lived his life that was enthralling. Maybe it was just…

Part of Humble Beginnings

Judged separately from its historical context, 'A bout de souffle' is a film that at first glance seems shallow and uneven. And while that may certainly be the case for the plot and the narrative structure, it is what it represents that makes Godard's debut so extraordinary.

This is an act of rebellion. An attempt to change the face of cinema by creating something that takes all the rules of filmmaking adhered to thus far and bend them and sometimes break them. It's anarchic, an exercise in experimental style, yet always remaining an ode to the thing its director loved so much, Cinema.

I have always considered myself lucky as I usually can appreciate the impact…

It's hard to put myself in the mindset where the techniques that the French New Wave pioneered are innovative, because so much of the cinema I grew up with was based on that kind of cinema. Hollywood in the 70s is French cinema in the 60s, except in color. It's only after a heavy dose of staid 50s cinema can you see how fresh this movie is. The movie deals openly with taboos, is loose in it's handheld style, has non-linear jump cuts, and focused on characters who aren't noble, heroic, or good. They're just normal people, although the lead is quite a scoundrel. Beyond the style, it's a simple story of a criminal in love with hot American Jean…