Friday, April 3, 2020
What's New About the New Wave?
French New wave auteurs like Godard envisioned their films as a radical re-visioning of the static filmmaking of the French studio system. What experimental ideas or techniques did you notice in Breathless (could you explain in some detail)? How do these experiments change the way we enjoy a film? Are they engaging or annoying? Do they bring meaning to the film? Do they make fun of the whole idea of bringing meaning to film?
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In Breathless, it is clear that some of the techniques used in this film are not techniques that are traditional to many of the American films that were out at the time. It makes total sense that Godard thought that traditional films were done the wrong way after seeing this film and some of the filming differences. The first major technique that I noticed was when Michel was in the car and he looked directly at the camera and began speaking to it. This can be referred to as breaking the fourth wall. This caught me off guard when I saw it and I was not too sure if I liked this touch, but thinking back on it I think I did. It almost added a touch of engagement to the film and the current scene. The next different technique I saw that was used a lot was the technique of jump cuts. I thought these actually fit well with the plot and chaos of the movie. The jump cuts added a sense of the fast pace life that Michel had to be living in while he was wanted which I thought was a good touch and added to the plot’s chaos. The third different technique that I noticed was the length of takes in some scenes as well as where the camera is placed. The scene that comes to mind when talking about this technique is the one late in the movie when Patricia calls the police on Michel and tells them he is in the apartment. The camera is placed higher up and clearly someone was just holding it. The camera followed Patricia as she moved around the apartment trying to explain to Michel why she had done what she had just done. The way the camera moves makes it feel like the viewer themselves is in the situation and you can feel the eeriness of the situation as Patricia tries to justify her actions. I enjoyed this movie and the New Wave with the techniques used was refreshing and interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteIn Godard’s Breathless, you are able to find differences from traditional Hollywood American films that make the movie more realistic. Godard believe that traditional films did not capture the essence of what that specific movie was. On the topic of comparing, Godard’s Breathless feels alive compared to old Hollywood’s static styles. A technique I noticed first was when Michel was in the car and began speaking to a camera. By speaking towards the camera and seemingly understanding he is in a movie, it broke the fourth wall. The fourth wall is what separates the audience from the movie. However, Michel draws us deeper into the movie as he talks to us. An overall plot development trick utilized by Godard were jump cuts. Jump cuts are used to convey chaos and confusion to distract the audience. This allows the audience to watch the movie repeatedly, as they will continue to uncover more secrets. I really enjoy the new wave techniques, as it feels more engaging and like a sort of puzzle. The jump cuts remind me of pieces, that the viewer have to put together to get the best understanding possible.
ReplyDeleteBreathless’ technical uses throughout the film establishes itself as not traditional in comparison to other American films that were released during the same time. Godard’s reasoning of how traditional films were done wrong are justified by the manner in which the movie was filmed and presented. One scene in particular I remember was when Michel was in a car and started speaking directly to the camera. The fact that he knew he was in a film adds to the personality of his character who was more on the suave side and confident. He broke the “fourth wall” which is the audience in this case. It introduces a new way to introduce the demeanor of a character, which other films never took into account. It feels like from here on out in the film, I’m always beside and observing his every move. Another very popular technique used in the film were the various jump cuts. The jump cuts never came off as annoying but instead added to the chaotic plot structure. It complimented the flamboyant ways of Michel and how direct and “fast paced” he is with his lives. I particularly remember the sidewalk scene where Patricia and Michel are walking on the road with their backs turned away from the camera. With a semi-low shot and little shake of the camera made it feel like I was walking behind them listening in on their conversation. Having Patricia and Michel walking away and then towards us in one shot shows how modern the film was for its time. Other than that, it was a fantastic movie and I thoroughly enjoyed watching another unique film.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching Breathless, I noticed several experimental ideas and techniques such as the main character speaking directly to the camera, long tracking shots, jump cuts, and scenes shot on location. For me, these features added to the main character’s rebellious attitude and the somewhat cynical tone of the film. A few minutes into the film, Michel is driving recklessly and looks over at the camera, positioned on the passenger side, and speaks to the audience. This scene, some would say is an example of breaking the fourth wall, is something that is rarely done in films at the time, and it gives the audience the feeling that they are in the car as well. Shortly after this scene, Michel pulls over in efforts to avoid the police. As the police officer tells him to freeze, the shot pans down Michel’s arm and jump cuts to the gun he is holding. The gun goes off and the police officer falls over into the bushes. All of this spans over just a few seconds and could be confusing if you take your eyes off the screen for just a moment. The film is fast-paced, which correlates to how Michel must be almost constantly on the move to avoid the authorities. Another experimental technique is the lengthy shots throughout the film. One of the firsts of these is when Michel meets up with Mr. Tolmachov in efforts to get in contact with the man who owes him money. The roughly two and a half minute shot follows Michel from the moment he enters the building, during his conversation with Mr. Tolmachov, and as he tries to call the man who owes him money; there are no cuts until he leaves the building and the police enter. Finally, the last technique that stood out to me was how many of the scenes were shot in the streets of France as opposed to a movie set. This particularly adds to the rebellious, carefree nature of the film, and for me, it makes the film seem more authentic and engaging. Overall, I think the ideas and techniques that I outlined match the plot and make the film more engaging.
ReplyDeleteAs we had briefly discussed in class, Breathless is certainly different from “traditional” American films from the same era. While the plot is different – some may say confusing – I would rather focus on the way the movie is edited and filmed. I believe the editing and filming go hand in hand. This being said, I want to focus on the jump cuts across the movie. I say this because there are many of them, and they are often jarring. A scene that comes to mind is Michel killing a police officer after stealing the car. I remember someone had shared during our Zoom session that this was confusing, and I agree. However, I did think it was purposeful. I believe it was to make the audience string together the dots and leave room for interpretation. I think of it kind of like “showing, not telling” in literature. Whether this was purposeful or not, it helps, the movie stand out from its peers. Despite this just being an editing change, the small details add up and it becomes quite noticeable. Whereas in other movies I naturally fall into the visuals and plot (rather than the camerawork), Breathless almost forced me to pay attention to all the elements. I do not think was annoying, but it was a unique cinematic experience, even fifty years later.
ReplyDeleteIn Breathless, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, there are many filming techniques used that make the film feel more authentic and professional. I was surprised when Michael "broke the fourth wall" by speaking directly to a camera that was inside the car he had stolen. This made me feel like I was in the scene with him and was very engaging. However, there were definitely parts of the film when I felt either pretty lost or I had to pause and go back a minute to re-watch a scene. In the scene where Michael kills a policeman, several jump cuts are used that make the whole scene very fast-paced and kind of hard to follow. Despite this, I actually enjoyed this kind of fast-paced editing and clever filming, because it just made the film more interesting and I found myself trying harder to figure out what was going on, rather than just skipping over parts. By having shots that speed up the action and keep me engaged, as well as making me feel like I'm really in the scene experiencing certain shots, I very much enjoyed what Godard chose to do in Breathless, and I would confidently say this is one of my favorite films we watched this year.
ReplyDeleteIn Breathless, Goddard infuses his film with multiple new wave techniques. These made the film take on a greater sense of reality than some of the more classic Hollywood films of the day. One of these new film ideas Goddard employed in the film was the breaking of the fourth wall by having Michel speak directly to the audience which gave the audience a sense of immersion in the film. By bringing the audience in with the actor it makes the film seem more real, although breaking the fourth wall does break the film "reality". Goddard additionally used a number of jump cuts in the film which served to create a sense of panic and confusion as this is the way that Michel lives his life. When your life revolves around stealing cars, driving at high speeds, killing cops, and lying to get your way, the traditional linear storytelling of Hollywood cinema would not have done it justice. When Michel kills the police officer, we hear the officer yell from off screen, Michel turn, it cuts to the gun, then to the dying police officer all in the span of a few seconds. Rather than making this a long winded dramatic scene, we experience as this as Michel does. He does not see the cop, he briefly becomes the gun, and it then it is over. I believe that this did a great deal to heighten the experience of the audience. Though these cuts can be a bit distracting they do at lot to immerse the audience in the action.
ReplyDeleteIn Breathless, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, he uses very nontraditional and new forms of camera movements that changed the future of film making. One example of a new film idea that Godard incorporated in the film was to have the audience feel included in the film. He did this by having the character, Michel, speak directly to the audience to make them feel like they are a part of the film and make them feel like Michel is actually speaking to them. I thought this was very interesting because this happens in a lot of films today. For example, they use this a lot in the TV show The Office and have the characters speaking directly to the audience and camera crew that has been following their company. It really makes the audience feel included in the film. He also uses a lot of jump cuts because the film was very chaotic and when using a lot of jump cuts it adds another sense of chaos to the film. I did not find the jump cuts as annoying I thought it added a very intense element of extra chaos to the film which had never been seen before this film. I thought that all these experimental ideas in this film were very interesting and if they never happened then every film would practically be the same. I thought the new ideas added an extra element that was rather pleasing and the films experiments changed films going forward.
ReplyDeleteBreathless, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, is an action crime film from 1960. During this time, there was not much risk in the way movies were made, or the plot line. Breathless is an example of the rise in scandalous movies slowly integrating into the cinematic norms. This film is about a criminal named Michel who develops a romance with an American named Patricia and is betrayed by her. The story is both engaging and fast-paced compared to typical popular films in the 1960s being slow and composed. This film used jump-cuts, which is something that is considered innovative to the film industry. The editing, from a viewing standpoint, made the story a bit hard to follow. There was constant action that were not pieced together well enough to visualize an accurate timeline during events such as when Michel stole the car. While driving, the camera went back and forth between the back of two heads which distracted from the dialogue. The heads were not as interesting to look at as the scenery passing by the car, which is an example of how it is easy to get lost in the style this film was made in. However, the jump cuts are still impressive, given that they are non-traditional to that time period and giving the film a more radical reputation. This would be considered French New Wave, because the film’s new techniques and bold plot were proven very successful by popularity.
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