esrosedotblog

TODAY'S MOVIE

À BOUT DE SOUFFLE
BREATHLESS (1960)

It is hard to approach this Godard classic with a fresh point of view. It is virtually the first French New Wave picture to hit the shore. The film crew was famously made up of New Wave 'names' such as Truffaut who wrote the story, Chabrol, Boulanger, Rissient, and Melville. We have and will see films by all of them.

The cinematographer Raoul Coutard took all natural lighting, hand held, 16 mm photography to the limit. The cinema-verité style works so well, even when compromises are made; the night scenes are extra fast (meaning slow speed photographed) to make most of the light. Showpieces, such as street lights coming on mid-scene, underline the drama that can be achieved from the real world outside the studio. I got a lot of this from Ebert in his non-thumb mode. More for the linking.

That having been said, the whole small drama about this narcissistic, on the edge of society, couple is still fresh and engaging.

Seberg is a throwaway. She is so much herself that it works; even I could hear her American accent in her French. She will not go much of anywhere after this; kinda sad. She had been 'discovered' by Otto Preminger to star in ST JOAN. It bombed. He then put her in another picture, BONJOUR TRISTESSE to prove that she was really a good actress. That picture bombed too. She died of barbiturate overdose at 41.

Belmondo, on the other hand, is at the beginning of a long and rich career. He is just mesmerizing. The camera loves him and when he is on he is all of the scene. He also has a body fat of about 6% and if you like them lean and smooth, he is a dream. Sorry, it had to be said. He is not the male sex symbol; he is the real thing, all sex. And kinda dumb which is the way a lot of us like him.

Belmondo served as the male lead of choice in about a dozen early New Wave pictures. He was the prototype of the anti-star. It is ironic that from this fame, he morphed into an international star and has a lot of film credits. He is not active since a 'small' stroke in 2001. He aged very well, as you can see. We will see him again soon in BOB LE FLAMBEUR; directed by Melville, the guy who plays a famous author in this one. I guess you can see that he has made quite an impact on me. I will give the film a 4 out of Netlix5 just for Jean Paul.