One of the seminal films of the French New Wave, this is a story of the love between a small-time hood wanted for killing a policeman, and an American girl who sells the Herald Tribune along the boulevards of Paris. Their relationship develops as he hides out from a dragnet.
Godard developed his now famous techniques: location shooting, improvised dialogue, and a loose narrative form. In addition he uses his characteristic jump cuts, deliberate "mismatches" between shots, and references to the history of cinema, art, and music. Much of the film's vigor comes from collisions between popular and high culture: Godard shows us pinups and portraits of women by Picasso and Renoir, and the soundtrack includes both Mozart's clarinet concerto and snippets of French pop radio.
When Breathless was first released, audiences and critics responded to the burst of energy it gave the French cinema; it won numerous international awards and became an unexpected box-office sensation. It is as fresh today as it was then and a joy to watch.
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