Friday, April 3, 2020
Love in the Time of the Beatles
One interpretation of Breathless is that it is a film about love in the modern world, where lovers know little about each others' past, have trouble communicating, follow their impulsive longings, only to end up betrayed at the end. Is there more to this take on modern romance? Is there something deeper in Michel and Patricia's relationship? Or is there something less? Is love even possible in the shadow of the atomic bomb and the Cold War? (Don't forget that Michel has other girlfriends and Patricia spent the evening -- and might have slept with -- her editor).
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I think that that in this time there love is comparable to that of lust rather than true love as a proven example from Michel's other girlfriends and Patricia's evening with her editor. Although they experience and have intimate feelings with one another, this modern adaptation of love is very open and yet closed at the same time. It is very easy to provide a facade in such a shallow relationship where the couple know "little about each other's past" and lead on a relationship based upon bodily needs/lust. This is further proven when Patricia immediately starts to question her loyalties when Michel is being investigated for murder and eventually even betrays him. this shows that this love is really just some casual way to fulfill their longings of something more, resembling love. I believe that love is possible in all scenarios including theirs but it is not always easy. Love is filled with sacrifice and pain and yet when these two catch even a glimpse of either, they run and flee rather than confronting their issues.
ReplyDeleteI would say that this film is all about love and romance. Usually in a gangster film we see just the intense parts of both the police and who ever may be on the run or avoiding the police. But in this movie, that is not the focus. From the beginning, there is not much tension in the movie, only that we see Michel stealing money and conning the people around him. The police seem incompetent and there seems to be no tension or urgency from Michel, especially when he finds out the police were called. In this scene, when his girlfriend tell her she called the police on him, he doesn’t even try to run, he just talks to her. This was to emphasize more of the day to day life of a classic gangster. And what we can see from this day to day life is the huge role of romance. This film really emphasized love and romance, starting to movie with him and one of his girlfriends, and ending with the woman he loved right in front of him. This shows that love is something that is common within all humans, no matter to social class, what you do for a living, or where you live. Additionally, when Patricia meets with the American, we see also a romance to show how love affects people among all different countries as well. Also, we see how both Michel and Patricia have had other partners while they knew each other, yet they stay loyal to them in the end and end the movie together. I would say that this suggests a very strong and deeper connection between them, one that is like true love. Even if they are on the run, even if Patricia finds out he has killed someone, even if Patricia calls the police, they love each other.
ReplyDeleteIn this film I believe Michel is truly in love with Patricia, but that Patricia sees their relationship more as lust. Throughout the film, it was always Michel who came back to Patricia, and although he lied to her, it is an easy claim to say he lied to her about his identity to keep her safe. He constantly asked her to move away with him to escape and go somewhere where there were no bad people. Michel would constantly try to impress Patricia and always begged to sleep with her. Michel told Patricia about his other women, yet he also never failed to mention she was different from the rest and he could not live without her. Patricia was the one standing in the way when she would constantly tell Michel to go away. I believe the only reason she let Michel stay was because she claimed she was pregnant with his baby. The entire time the film tricked us into believing that they were going to end up together but as soon as Patricia fell into the cops radar, she turned on Michel. She pretended to be with him, hid him from the cops and even stole with him, but as soon as she realized her motivations were not based off of love, she reported him. When Michel found out about this he did not run, he stayed. He realized that he could not live without Patricia and that he was done running. Their love was not possible from the beginning for Patricia could never be in love with a criminal.
ReplyDeleteIn Breathless the love between Patricia and Michel is part of the cycle of all movies that always depict the younger generation as a new freer and more open people who don’t stick to the ideas of marriage and monogamy. This classic cinema trope is used in Breathless to highlight character traits and flaws that are shown in the progress of their relationship. Michel is a petty criminal who lives a on the edge lifestyle and is similar blasé when it comes to love, having multiple girlfriends and being very frank about sex, saying in a scene that he’s been with 22 women after Patricia asks him. This is not to say that Patricia is the quintessential “pure person” in the relationship as she also had more relationships than the stereotypical women of her parent’s generation. Jean Luc-Godard uses this new wave of romance to deepen his cast of characters allowing the dialogue between the two, to let the audience understand how they would fall in love with each other. The movie is a reminder that no matter the generation or political feeling, true love can still be found between two people from different backgrounds and beliefs and connections can create a story worth telling.
ReplyDeleteIn this film, if the relationship between Patricia and Michel is considered love than I believe it isn't a pure love, it's much more toxic. I think it is more lust than love or perhaps they love the idea of each other. But I think classifying them as in love with one another isn't accurate. If you love someone you don't repeatedly lie to them or have other people in the picture when you are in a relationship. Calling this a modern love may be true as communication skills get worse among couples but I still would not classify it as a pure and true love. Love is definitely possible in hard times with the atomic bomb and the cold war going on, if anything it may bring people even closer. One of the biggest things that bonds people together is going through some sort of trauma together and coming out the other side closer and connected. However, that can happen with people and still be an unhealthy, toxic bond that isn't good for either of them.
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