Cinema
Breathless
À bout de souffle
Jean-Luc Godard · 1960
Synopsis
In Marseille, Michel Poiccard, a petty crook, steals an American army car and takes the main road to Paris. Pursued on the road, he shoots a police motorcyclist. In Paris, he finds Patricia, an American student who sells newspapers on the Champs-Élysées, and tries to persuade her to leave with him for Rome.
Context
The subject comes from a treatment written by François Truffaut after a newspaper article, which Godard took up for his screenplay. The first cut being too long, the film was tightened by cuts within the shots, and these jump cuts became its trademark. It opens with a dedication to Monogram Pictures, an American low-budget film studio. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg play the leading roles. It was released in March 1960.
Who it is for
Ninety minutes; a jerky editing style, with deliberate jump cuts, which at first surprises and then carries the viewer along.
Prizes and reception
Directing prize at the Berlin festival in 1960 and Prix Jean Vigo, for Godard's first feature film.
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