5/5
Breathless must have taken the world by storm when it first came out. It is endlessly fun, inspired, and inventive. Godard undoubtedly had a blast while making it, because his joy seeps its way into every frame of this masterpiece. This movie quite possibly single-handedly redefined cinema, acting as the next step in its evolution. The novel techniques utilized are so raw, you feel like you're literally on the cutting edge. Breathless innovates on all fronts: technique/style and story/content.
The most noticeable technical achievement is the use of the jump cut, which Godard invented during the editing of this movie. The running time was too long, but he didn't want to cut out any whole segment, so he cut out boring snippets here and there, even if they were in the middle of dialogue. The jump cuts make for an undeniably unique style that invariably pulls you in: there is nothing to bore you, it is all cut out! He also expands on Truffaut's use of outdoor tracking shots started in The 400 Blows. And the music is phenomenal.
The story, what little backbone there is to speak of, lets itself get easily distracted. While Michel is on the run from the police for killing a cop, he nevertheless finds the time to hang out with his girlfriend Patricia and discuss life and love, grief vs. nothingness, and the differences between men and women and Americans and Parisiens. And this distraction suddenly becomes the focal point of the story, as they just talk and talk and talk. But the dialogue is amazing: it is witty, romantic, and philosophical all at once. It further distracts itself, as Patricia goes to a press screening of the novelist Parvulesco. They interview him, which is really just an excuse for Parvulesco to respond with eloquence on points of view that probably belong to Godard. On a side note, I love how the French New Wave embraces self-reference--Michel peripherally mentions Bob le flambeur, a character in a Melville film of that same name that came out a couple years prior. (Melville also plays the role of the novelist Parvulesco.)
There are some flaws. The movie can sometimes feel amateurish, with basic camerawork, very rudimentary or nonexistent lighting setups, and forced or odd editing. However, it was never meant to mimic a big budget production, and never pretends to do so. Some shots/scenes go on for far too long, which is more painful in this movie because everything else is cut so short. Those objection are extremely minor considering this movie's place in history and the sheer joy you get from watching it. I will end this review with my favorite line in the movie for you to ponder.
Patricia: "What is your greatest ambition in life?"
Parvulesco: "To become immortal, and then die."
IMDb link:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0053472/
Mississippi Mermaid started out with an interesting premise, and from there it spiraled out of control. It was wholly unpredictable and for the most part better than I expected. I came in not knowing what it was about and found the experience to be quite engaging as a result, so I don't want to ruin the plot if anyone decides they want to see it. However, the story sometimes strayed into banality and boredom. Due to sub-par editing, nearly every single shot and scene went on for far longer than it needed to. I really liked the acting, but thought the script's dialogue was for the most part quite uninteresting. The cinematography actually surprised me; its quality is far superior to the rest of the technical aspects involved in this movie. I thought the music itself was fitting, but because of how the film was edited together, the music seemed off all the time. It kept me interested throughout, so if you're into Truffaut, this one might interest you.
