Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless heralded the arrival of the French New Wave, revolutionizing the way we make, watch, and think about cinema. The latest from Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater (Boyhood) is a love letter to Godard’s legendary 1960 feature debut, meticulously recreating the circumstances of its creation in the youthful spirit of its source material. This homage to a turning point in cinema history has plenty to delight, but the film’s key message is art and freedom.
Having spent several years writing for Cahiers du cinéma, Godard, not yet 30, declares, “The best way to criticize a film is to make one.” So off he goes, convincing George de Beauregard to fund a low-budget independent feature and whipping up a treatment with fellow New Waver François Truffaut based on a news item about a gangster and his girlfriend. And thus an amateur film shoot begins.
Reviews
"This is that rare bird, a movie about movies that doesn’t miss a beat. Whether you have seen Breathless or not doesn’t really matter. If you love film, cinema, and the dreamers who create it this one will simply take your breath away." –Deadline
As part of our See Change initiative, we strive to showcase the work of women and non-binary individuals and their behind-the-scenes involvement in a production.
This film is written by Holly Gent, Laetitia Masson and Michèle Pétin, edited by Catherine Schwartz, and produced by Michèle Pétin.
