À bout de souffle (1960)

	Directed by: Jean-Luc Godard	COUNTRY France GENRE Drama ENGLISH TITLE Breathless NORWEGIAN TITLE Til siste åndedrag RUNNING TIME 89 minutes
	Produced by: Georges de Beauregard
	Written by (based on a story by Francois Truffaut): Jean-Luc Godard

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Michel Poiccard/Laszlo Kovacs	Jean-Paul Belmondo
Patricia Franchini	Jean Seberg
Police Inspector	Daniel Boulanger	-
Parvulesco	Jean-Pierre Melville	-
Minouche	Liliane Robin	-
Antonio Berrutti	Henri-Jacques Huet	-
Informer	Jean-Luc Godard	-

Review

Jean-Luc Godard's hailed New Wave classic isn't remarkable because of its crime narrative, which is borrowed from classic American cinema for Godard to interpret with a combination of fascination and derision, but rather for Godard's visionary artistic sense and the embodiment of the modern anti-hero in the form of the brilliant Jean-Paul Belmondo.

As much as À bout de souffle is one of the finest examples of how the filmmakers of la nouvelle vague lived up to their own notion that cinema should be the director's canvas and the camera his pen, it is also a film that captures a purity and timelessness – urban in its realisation, but very much basally human. This is prevalent in the characters' needs, insecurities, silliness and nakedness, stemming from Godard's ability to strip them down beyond convention to a level that would be unthinkable in contemporary American cinema. However, this is also noteworthy in the film's ability to capture a style and fashion that is elevated above volatile mode expressions. It looks new and old at the same time, almost regardless of when you view it. The lengthy scene Belmondo and Seberg share early on – a game of sexuality and dependence in which they play and improvise – is from both these perspectives one of the most unique in movie history. And, just as importantly, it is completely captivating.

The extremely apparent ambivalence and duality of the Belmondo character make him simultaneously unreal and irresistible. His selfishness and carelessness represent a complete opposite to the traditional film hero, and this makes him sexy and tragic in delicately balanced portions. Belmondo's performance is one of defining proportions. And Godard captured him and his world with impetuous spontaneity.