Richard Gere (insert gerbil reference here).

29. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959)

Ranking Godard:

1. Breathless
2. Pierrot le fou
3. Vivre sa vie
4. Contempt
5. Bande à part
6. Week-End
7. Une femme est un femme
8. Two or Three Things I Know About Her

I like Godard’s more conventional work. I think it’s primarily because I compare everything I’ve seen from him with Breathless, which was his first film, and also the first Godard film I watched.

Breathless is awesome. You have a cool-ass dude, a ballin’ girl, car chases, gun fights, people dying, tons of movie references, and it’s all set in Paris. Now that’s how you make a movie. Plus it looks fantastic. It’s a straightforward story, that’s totally accessible, and Godard never made another movie quite so engaging. So basically every Godard film I watch ends up alienating me more and more because they are not Breathless. That’s not to say I don’t like some of his other films. I really dug Pierrot le fou, Vivre sa vie and Contempt. But these movies aren’t Breathless, and alas they are somehow disappointing.

On filmaffinity.com I gave the film a 9/10, I think a rewatching might bring it up to 10. It’s great, and should be seen by all.