VERSUS THE SCARECROW EPISODE 5: DIRECTORIAL DEBUTS: 1ST CLASS. I decided to challenge myself and really open the doors of my film knowledge and take on “The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide”. It’s 808 pages of movies and movie reviews from some of the most knowledgeable movie people you don’t know. It’s a book put together by a staff that praises, and destroys, some of our favorites and not so favorites. You can read the rest of my series here.
Just a quick refresher: each episode, I’m going to tackle three films from three different categories. Two films will be films I’ve never seen before and one will be one I’ve seen before or own. For the new films, well, new to me, I’m going to review them like a typical FTS review using the TOAST Rating system. But, for the films I’ve seen, I’m going give a quick paragraph or two about why I like or don’t like the film. We’ll try to include the poster and trailer for each film. “….and here. We. Go!”
Today I’ll be looking at the debut films of some of my favorite directors. Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket, Scorsese’s Who’s That Kicking At My Door, and I reflect back on Jean-Luc Godard’s debut film and the catalyst for the French New Wave in cinema; Breathless.
Breathless (1960) Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg and Daniel Boulanger. IMDB says: “A young car thief kills a policeman and tries to persuade a girl to hide in Italy with him.”
Jean-Luc Godard’s debut film opens after the title card with a shot of someone holding up a newspaper. We can’t tell what they’re reading but we can see the back of the paper; it’s a pin-up girl surrounded by a border of comic strips. His subtitled (well for me anyway since I don’t know how to speak French yet) words grace the screen. “After all, I’m an asshole. After all, yes, I’ve got to. I’ve got to!” The paper slowly moves down revealing the black and white Jean-Paul Belmondo, France’s Cinematic Ambassador of French New Wave Cinema. With his very daper hat covering most of his face and an almost unnecessarily large hand rolled cigarette hanging from his mouth, our new anti-hero, and Jean-Luc’s muse for most of the 60s, has control of the screen and our attention for the next hour and a half.
It’s style and power like that that drew me into Jean-Luc’s films. But not everyone likes this film and that’s okay. It isn’t for everyone. It could come across as sloppy, convoluted, and even boring. Others will see this film and enjoy the beautiful French cityscape, interesting dialogue, and if you’re like me, fall in love with Jean Seberg. I enjoy this movie and the more I watch it, the more I enjoy just letting it play in the background with the subtitles off. It’s an enjoyable and relaxing prance through France. If you’re interested at all in French New-Wave cinema or you want to start your film education on Jean-Luc Godard, start your class with Breathless, an instant classic.
You can read the rest of episode five where I reviewed Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket and Scorsese’s Who’s That Kicking At My Door. If you’re interested in more, you can find the rest of the Versus The Scarecrow series here.