A Bout de Souffle.docx

1WSMinimal panning rightMichel sees Antonios car,walks toward it as it approachesand tries to catch up with it;2 sec2WSPan right Michel runs to catch up withthe car;5 sec3MSSlight pan- StaticMichel gets the money 8 secfrom Antonio and warns him thatthe cops are coming;4CU StaticMichel tells Antonio that he wontrun from the cops; 15 sec5 6MS Pan right, Pan leftAntonio reaches into car to giveMichel his gun;4 sec7WS Jump CutThe police arrive;2 sec8MSStatic - High Angle Antonios reaction,the police exit car;3 sec9MCU -MS - MCU Static - Pan right(matching action shot) Antonio throws Michel his gun;3 sec10MS Jump cutsMichel picks up gun,Antonio drives away, police officerdraws gun, Michael is shot;8 sec11WSJump Cut,Tracking in Michel runs from the police;17 sec12MCUJump Cut,TrackingPatricia (followed by police car)runs after wounded Michel;6 sec13WSJump Cut,Tracking inMichel sees Patricia and policeand continues to run despite stumbling;50 sec14MS -MCUJump Cut,TrackingPatricia and police still tailing Michel;6 sec15MCU Jump Cut Michel lying on the ground as Patriciaand police approach;8 sec16CUJump CutPatricia reacts;24 sec17CUJump CutMichel reacts;18 sec18CU Jump CutPatricia reacts to Michel;7 sec19CUJump CutMichel insults Patricia, then dies; 25 sec20 CUJump Cut -black outPatricia reacts to Michels statementand death;30 secThe segment that will be analyzed begins at about 1:22:15 and ends at 1:25:27. The sequence begins at the point where Michel reveals to Antonio his intention to stay at the scene knowing that the cops will be after him. The first shot of the segment is a close-up of Michel at eye angle as he speaks of his feelings of exhaustion and disgust, “Im sick of it all. Im tired. I want to sleep.” Michel is shot with shallow focus in order to highlight his facial expressions. This is a clear foreshadowing of how the film may end for Michel. His words also indicate the impact of Patricias betrayal on his actions. Instead of continuing his criminal life style, he sees and accepts the meaninglessness of his pursuits. Then the film cuts to the second shot, a medium shot showing Michel continuing his contemplation of his feelings for Patricia with peaceful church bell music playing in the background. The shot then pans from right to left, displaying Antonio reaching for his automatic and offering it to Michel. Michel considers the gun then gives it back to Antonio and tells him to leave. The second shot ends here before a jump cut is used to transition into the next shot. These first two shots describe Michels state of mind before the arrival of the cops. He is portrayed as still detached from reality, focused solely on Patricias betrayal and thinks of the future in vague, disinterested terms.The next series of shots are very short. The third shot is a long shot at a high angle which begins with the arrival of the cops at time 1:22:40. The police car is braked suddenly as one of the doors opens. It then cuts to a medium shot of Antonio reaching for the gun, ready to throw. The cops are then shown to exit the car with another high angle shot, facing the same direction as Antonios car is parked. In this sixth shot, as an example of match on action, Antonio completes his throw in a medium shot before driving away. The camera then pans to the right to show the gun falling to the ground. As the gun falls, Michel is shown in a long shot preceded by a jump cut to be walking away then noticing the gun and picking it up. He turns his head to look in Antonios direction and the film cuts to a medium shot of Antonio as he drives away. Michel is then shown to look ahead in anticipation in the 9th shot. The camera immediately moves to the cops standing in front of their car, one of them fires the gun. As soon as the gun is fired, the film jump cuts to Michel running with his back to the cops, evidently shot. However, due to the use of a jump cut, the moment that Michel gets shot is not shown, which increases the dramatic effect as he stumbles down the street. Hectic orchestra music that is characteristic of this film begins playing at this instant. These short shots create tension and quicken the pace of the action. The disjunctive editing also showcases the chaos and instability of Michels life. These shots use deep focus to display the setting and the nonchalant people on the street who are oblivious to the police and the shooting.The pace of the segment changes drastically with the long, tracking shot utilized to shoot Michel futilely running down the street, with his back to the camera. The camera seems unsteady as Michel stumbles while covering his wound. The visible shaking of the camera demonstrates the low budget shooting typical of many French New Wave films. The passing people appear disinterested in Michel. Michel is shot at an eye angle with shallow focus which allows the audience to follow him without being distracted by the scenery. This shot lasts for about 16 seconds and ends with Michel looking back. It then jump cuts to a medium shot of Patricia running after Michel, in which she appears troubled and anxious, with her hand over her chest. She is shot with shallow focus as well where the people around her are blurry. Because of the jump cut, Patricias appearance seems spontaneous and creates a sense of discontinuity in the action. The gap in the special development forces the viewers to critically question the presence of Patricia and her intentions. The views are also given the opportunity to analyze the editing style of film and form an opinion on the meaning that the editing creates.The film the jump cuts to the 13th shot of the segment, which features a long take of nothing but Michel struggling to continue running. The camera zooms in slightly at times but maintains enough distance for a long shot. The long take and shallow focus demand the viewers to vicariously experience Michels struggle and pay attention to the editing. The realistic temporal development breaks with the conventional paradigm and creates discomfort for the viewers who are used to the traditional practice of cutting to the end of a long chase. The 50 second long take also builds tension and develops Michels character by emphasizing his tiredness and sadness. The dramatic yet playful music in the background echoes the absurdities that life presents.This shot finishes when the camera zooms in on Michel collapsing onto the ground and jump cuts to a medium long shot of Patricia catching up to him. It then immediately jump cuts to a high angle shot of Michel lying on the ground, and still smoking a cigarette. At this point, the background music comes to a close in order to emphasize the dialogue and facial expressions of the characters. Shot 16 is a close up of Patricia as she stands looking at Michel, out of breath after running, her hand covering her face. Patricia is shown to be in shock yet in control of her emotions, perhaps because she is still processing the situation. The next two high angle shots depict Michel making funny faces at Patricia and Patricia watching him in silence, not knowing how to react. The 19th shot of the segment shows Michel making the famous insult to Patricia before dying, “Cest vraiment dgueulasse.” The theme music begins at this moment; however it is softer this time and conveys a sense of loss and melancholy. The music too does not offer the audience the usual catharsis of experiencing sadness after a tragedy; instead it is dissatisfying just like the lack of resolution at the end of film. Patricia looks directly into the camera, swipes her thumb across her lips and asks what the insult means in the final close-up shot. These close ups of Patricia use shallow focus to emphasize her facial expressions by ignoring the background scenery. The final shot of Patricia powerfully displays her confusion and pain. Life appears to be absurd and the world indifferent to her struggles. The film ends with Patricia turning away from the camera then a blackout followed with the word “FIN”. The film ends with the lovers as distant as ever, their pursuits failed and no rational answers could be found to explain the things that have happened.Godard chooses to make the main characters of his film immoral, nave and hard to understand to emphasize his existentialistic perspective on life. Michel refuses Antonios gun and in a sense, chooses to end his life while Patricia betrays Michel based on her self-interest or perhaps her concept or right from wrong. However, the lovers in the end do not understand each others actions and the audience too, is left in the dark with only speculations. Despite their actions and motives, Michel and Patricias “love” story seems to only resonant the existential theme of individuality. One lives to the best of ones ability in an indifferent world where it is ultimately impossible to connect to one another.The existential themes of the A Bout de Souffle are presented in a style that facilitates their revelation. The various shot lengths, multiple jump cuts and ambiguous plot progression characteristic of the French New Wave emphasize the chaos and imperfections in life that are often ignored by Classical Hollywood. Godard presents a version of reality in A Bout de Souffle that is unfamiliar and startling to the audience because of its honest, unapologetic depiction of life without much temporal manipulations. In the end, the audience is encouraged to accept that most events that occur do not have straightforward explanations and people often do not have perfect understandings of themselves or of each other.The verisimilitude created by the Classical Hollywood continuity editing appears to be a presentation of the illusion of realism to the French New Wave filmmakers. In a post-war environment, directors such as Godard and Truffaut aimed to use disjunctive editing to alienate the viewers and create ambiguity in the narration in order to force the viewers to engage in critical analysis as well as face the existentialistic qualities of reality. Besides its contribution of an alternative editing style, the French New Wave movement is also significant for its lasting influence on film makers such as Arthur Penn and Francis Ford Coppola who used disjunctive editing within classical films. Furthermore, disjunctive editing is seen in television commercials as well as music videos. The writings of Godard and other French New Wave film makers for publications such as Cahiers du Cinema also helped to establish film as an expressive and artistic medium for individuals instead of mere entertainment for the mass.The most memorable moment in the film A Bout de Souffle to me, is when Patricia imitates Michels ironic and reoccurring swipe of thumb across his lip at the very end of the film. Confused and in shock of Michels death, Patricia is filmed directly regarding the camera, as she asks what Michels final insult to her means. The last scene of A Bout de Souffle signifies the end of both characters struggle in finding happiness and freedom in each other. Doomed from the onset, patria and Michel are shown as reckless, detached from the world, together at times only for temporary answers. Their uncertainty and dissatisfaction reaches their climax when the film closes with the main characters failing to understand and connect to each other. Jean Luc Godard ends the film this way, in my opinion to challenge the characteristic feel-good resolutions in films accepted by the mass at the time. He also employs startling jump cuts, daring dialogue and unlikable and immoral main characters in his film in order to self-consciously transgress classical boundaries set by previous filmmakers.This article will analyze a short sequence in the final scene of A Bout de Souffle in particular, in order to evaluate the ways this film conveys the existentialistic perspective of life and the significance of the French New Wave movement to film history.(Michels trademarks: chain-smoking, lip wipe)My favorite part of Breathless is the final death scene of Michel. Patricia is not really sure she wants to be in love with Michel or not so she called the police to arrest him. Actually, Patricia sets a test for herself to determine that she loves Michel or not but I think her thinking is so extreme; it might be the New Wave style is just like that. Suddenly, Michel hears his friend arrives and runs outside. His friend urges him to escape, but Michel says his famous last words to the cops (This is my favor dialogue): “Im fed up, (and he looks into the camera) Im tired and I want to sleep.” This dialogue is completely to depict the desperation of Michel at that time about Patricias dispassionately betrayal. After his friend says he is nuts and Michel suddenly changes his mind and run away but the cops have just arrive and shoot him. Then the long dying scene of Michel is like the usual melodramatically, he cannons in the street and finally fall down. Meantime, Patricia arrives and Michel never dropping his omnipresent cigarette from his mouth and makes his typical faces at her and says, “Youre a real scrumbag.” And then he drops and dies. Then Patricia said, “whats a scrumbag?” and she stares at Michel, then at the audience and imitates the trademark of Michel lip wipe and the film is finish.Antonio arrives outside with the cash and Michel tells him that the American girl turned him in. Michel says he is fed up and he is staying because he is tired. Antonio gives him his pistol but he doesnt want it. When the cops arrive Antonio throws Michel the pistol and when Michel picks it up he is shot in the streets. Michel injured, runs for a little bit but eventually collapses in the middle of the street.Patricia arrives by Michels side and Michel shows Patricia his three forms of facial expressions, the happy face, sad face, and angry face; which he did earlier in the apartment. He then says to her, Makes me want to puke and dies. Patricia asks the detective what Michel said and the detective translates it for her. What that mean, puke? she asks while she rubs her lips with the edge of her thumb. Ironically the final lines of dialogue in the film confused English-speaking audiences as well. In some translations, it is unclear whether Michel is condemning Patricia, or alternatively condemning the world in general.The theme of death adds an existential undertone. Existentialism, which emphasizes an awareness of death and making free individual choices, was fashionable at the time in France among intellectual youths such as the Cahiers crowd. Both Patricia and Michel choose their own moral codes (albeit unethical ones) and Michels love of freedom is apparent in his nonconformist lifestyle.Not only does the films content reflect existentialism and anarchy, but the films style does too. Breathless is best known for the use of radical editing techniques such as jump cuts, or “an abrupt break in the continuity of a scene created by editing out part of a shot or scene,” as defines. Jump- cuts seem to disrupt the flow of time by “jumping” through it, violating classical editing of matching cuts that appear to create continuous time and space. Breathless was the first film to break this convention, revolutionizing the idea of montage in a way that can only be compared to the effect of Eisensteins Battleship Potemkin.The jump cuts have an existential implication in that they indicate “the meaninglessness of the time intervals between moral decisions,” as Rosenbaum writes. Existentialism stresses the moment-to-moment choices we make, and the jump-cuts draw attention to each moment. The arbitrary jump-cuts look like amateurish errors, but these “errors only reinforce the illusion of immediacy. It produces the impression o