An Analysis of Godard’s Narrative Style and Breathless 1960

This essay delves into the analysis of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film, “Breathless,” examining its groundbreaking narrative style and cinematic techniques. It explores how Godard defied conventional filmmaking through the use of jump cuts, semiotics, and the disruption of diegetic sounds. The essay discusses the film's characters, the exploration of the relationship between sound and image, and the influence of film noir. Furthermore, it assesses the film's place in the French New Wave and its lasting impact on cinema, including its subversion of genre conventions and its contribution to the development of the doomed romantic hero and the femme fatale. The essay emphasizes the film's intertextual references, and the lack of closure or logic, highlighting how “Breathless” transcends the New Wave and continues to influence filmmakers.

Running Head: ANALYSING GODARD’S NARRATIVE STYLE AND “BREATHLESS
1960”
Analysing Godard’s Narrative Style and “Breathless”
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1ANALYSING GODARD’S NARRATIVE STYLE AND “BREATHLESS 1960”
“Breathless” is the perfect synthesis of a few key elements of cinema – a girl, a gun, and
two people in a car, just talking. The film fraternity initially considered Godard’s criticism as
“confused and badly organised” but passionate and confident, which established him as a
cinephile. Use of semiotics and different syntaxes which goes against the conventional language
of films with the ellipses and jump cuts were a few aspects which set him apart from the crowd
(Van Horn).
“Breathless” released in 1960, is based on the character of Michel and his American
girlfriend, Patricia. The plot is halted, with inconsequential use of dialogue and action. Romance
and a happy ending have been denied to the audience, thus maintaining the tension prevailing
between the classical genre of film making and the New Wave. Modification of characters into
art-film type actions lead to an off on the tangent. Godard explores the relation between sound-
image relation and their construction along with disruption in the fictional course of events (Van
Horn). He also manipulates information on a micro-level of individual jump cuts along with the
intervention of music and placing scenes alongside each other. The disruption available at the
foreground of diegetic sounds is continuous, but the image remains discontinuous. The movie
has gone beyond the scope of cinema and intertextual references on Bogart as well as film noir.
An amalgamation of generic film traits along with Jean Gobin’s poetic and realist roles
has given birth to the doomed romantic hero, the deceived femme fatale; and the vengeful police-
leading to unavailability of closure or logic. “Breathless” transgresses beyond the New Wave by
leaving its mark on the consequent film making.

2ANALYSING GODARD’S NARRATIVE STYLE AND “BREATHLESS 1960”
Reference
Van Horn, Royal. "Virtual libraries and valuable. PDF downloads." Phi Delta Kappan 83.10
(2002): 732.