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Breathless

"Wild! Violent! Outspoken and Honest!"

1960-03-16 Drama 1hr 30m

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

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Storyline

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

  • Released
    1960-03-16
  • Revenue
    n/a
  • Budget
    n/a
  • Runtime
    1hr 30m
  • Genre
    Drama, Crime
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    Français, English
  • imdb-logo
    7.7
  • Production
    Les Films Impéria, Les Productions Georges de Beauregard, SNC

Crew

Jean-Luc Godard
Director
Jean-Luc Godard
Screenplay
Georges de Beauregard
Producer
Keywords:
hotel room dying and death newspaper journalist friendship paris, france fight loss of loved one gun car thief marseille, france journalism smoking on the run financial transactions extramarital affair french noir runaway couple nouvelle vague fugitive lovers defiant

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Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo
Michel Poiccard / László Kovács
Jean Seberg

Jean Seberg
Patricia Franchini
Daniel Boulanger

Daniel Boulanger
Police Inspector Vital
Henri-Jacques Huet

Henri-Jacques Huet
Antonio Berrutti
Roger Hanin

Roger Hanin
Carl Zubart
Van Doude

Van Doude
American Journalist, Patricia's Friend
Claude Mansard

Claude Mansard
Claudius Mansard
Liliane Dreyfus

Liliane Dreyfus
Liliane / Minouche
Michel Fabre

Michel Fabre
Police Inspector #2
Jean-Pierre Melville

Jean-Pierre Melville
Parvulesco the Writer
Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard
The Snitch
Richard Balducci

Richard Balducci
Tolmatchoff
André S. Labarthe

André S. Labarthe
Journalist at Orly
François Moreuil

François Moreuil
Journalist at Orly
Jacques Lourcelles

Jacques Lourcelles
Liliane Robin

Liliane Robin
Minouche
Gérard Brach

Gérard Brach
Photographer (uncredited)
Philippe de Broca

Philippe de Broca
A Journalist (uncredited)
José Bénazéraf

José Bénazéraf
Man in a White Car (uncredited)
Jean Domarchi

Jean Domarchi
A Drunk (uncredited)
Jean Douchet

Jean Douchet
A Journalist (uncredited)
Raymond Huntley

Raymond Huntley
A Journalist (uncredited)
Louiguy

Louiguy
(uncredited)
Michel Mourlet

Michel Mourlet
Audience in the Movie Theater (uncredited)
Guido Orlando

Guido Orlando
(uncredited)
Madame Paul

Madame Paul
(uncredited)
Jean-Louis Richard

Jean-Louis Richard
A Journalist (uncredited)
Jacques Serguine

Jacques Serguine
(uncredited)
Jacques Siclier

Jacques Siclier
(uncredited)
Virginie Ullmann

Virginie Ullmann
(uncredited)
Emile Villion

Emile Villion
(uncredited)

Videos and Photos

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Movie Reviews

Reviews for Breathless
reviewer avatar

A Review by CRCulver 8

Written by CRCulver on 2018-09-02

A key film of the late Fifties/early Sixties French New Wave, <i>À bout de souffle</i> (Breathless) opens with suave lowlife Michel Poiccard... read more

A key film of the late Fifties/early Sixties French New Wave, <i>À bout de souffle</i> (Breathless) opens with suave lowlife Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) stealing a car. When he's caught speeding on the way to Paris and pursued by the police, Michel kills the officer. Desperate to collect some money owed and make his escape to Italy, he hides out with Patricia (Jean Seberg), an American girl he had slept with once and who is oblivious to the danger he's in. This is one of the most influential films of all time in its liberal use of jump cuts, in idolizing American noir films and transferring that aesthetic to a foreign country, and its allusions to other films and even self-referentially to itself. Goddard left plenty of signs that he was seeking to overturn the staid French mainstream tradition, such as when Michel rebuffs a hawker selling <i>Cahiers du cinema</i> (the French film magazine), or when Patricia interviews a film director named Parvulesco, who is none other than Godard's New Wave comrade-in-arms Jean-Pierre Melville. <i>À bout de souffle</i> is undeniably dated. Even knowing all that context around its creation and reception, I found it hard to be really bowled over and cannot award the film a full five stars – and I am a great fan of Godard’s subsequent work. Still, there's a lot to like. I'm particularly fond of the film's dialogue, which revels in French slang that hitherto had not been consider "proper" for art, most of which goes over Patricia's head and some of which Michel explains. In that sense one might compare the film to Raymond Queneau's novel <i>Zazie dans le métro</i> from the same time. The sexual frankness of its young characters might surprise younger viewers who would place this social upheaval to later in the 1960s.

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2024-03-14

Jean-Paul Belmondo spends much of this film in just his boxers after his "Poiccard/Kovacs" character pinches a car, kills the pursuing polic... read more

Jean-Paul Belmondo spends much of this film in just his boxers after his "Poiccard/Kovacs" character pinches a car, kills the pursuing police officer and the ends up taking refuge with his new journalism student friend "Patricia" (Jean Seberg). She's not quite aware of the extent of the trouble her new beau is in when he sets about trying to convince her that he has some cash coming and that they should go and live in Italy. His identity isn't exactly unknown to the cops either, and with his face plastered over the front page of every newspaper in Paris, his chances of attaining his idyll are beginning to look remote - especially as he has precisely no self-awareness as he travels the city for all to see. Of course, it has to be only a matter of time before "Patricia" finds out the truth about him - but what will she decide to do? It's essentially a two-hander between the pair and they gel well as the story gathers pace. Seberg's character is engaging and it's easy to see why she falls for the enigmatic and charming criminal who exudes about as much menace as a wet cabbage. There's a fun interview scene when she is charged with quizzing the writer "Parvulesco" (Jean-Pierre mMlville) - a rather pompous individual who announces his life's ambition is to become immortal and die. I guess that might have been how "Poiccard" might have looked at things too - though maybe not the second element too soon. Now the editing. Hmmm. It's messy. Might that be deliberate or just an intern with some sellotape and a blunt razor blade? It's another talking point for this quirky and entertaining crime drama - with a difference.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by CRCulver

A key film of the late Fifties/early Sixties French New Wave, <i>À bout de souffle</i> (Breathless) opens with suave lowlife Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) stealing a car. When he's caught speeding on the way to Paris and pursued by t...

reviewer avatar

A Review by CRCulver 8

Written by CRCulver on 2018-09-02

A key film of the late Fifties/early Sixties French New Wave, <i>À bout de souffle</i> (Breathless) opens with suave lowlife Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) stealing a car. When he's caught speed...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2024-03-14

Jean-Paul Belmondo spends much of this film in just his boxers after his "Poiccard/Kovacs" character pinches a car, kills the pursuing police officer and the ends up taking refuge with his new journal...

read more