Breathless

Breathless is one of the shining influencers of French New Wave cinema. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert claimed, “Modern movies begin here, with Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ in 1960. No debut film since ‘Citizen Kane’ in 1942 has been as influential." It tells the story of Michel, a young criminal who wants to emulate the persona of Humphrey Bogart. After Michel shoots a cop who catches him trying to steal a car, he escapes to Paris to hide with his American girlfriend Patricia. Both Michel and Patricia explore different forms of nihilism. Michel faces life with cheerful intensity while Patricia finds her seemingly meaningless life dissatisfactory and that makes her afraid. It is not until the end that both characters face the consequences of their philosophy, and the result leaves them both breathless.

Production

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

Produced by Georges de Beauregard

Written by Jean-Luc Godard

Starring Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Henri-Jacques Huet, Liliane Dreyfus,

Claude Mansard

Music by Martial Solal

Cinematography by Raoul Coutard

Edited by Cécile Decugis

Production company: Les Films Impéria

Distribution & Stats

Distributed by Société nouvelle de cinématographie

Release date: 16 March 1960

Running time: 87 minutes

Country: France

Language: French, English

Budget: 400,000 Francs

Box office: 2,295,912 admissions