There’s a fine line between the reckless innovation of the New Wave directors and sloppy filmmaking. In the moment, these dramatic departures from the standard must have been thrilling, but with 60 years of film bridging the gap, it’s not hard to see that a film like Breathless is flawed. But it’s also explicitly clear that perfection is besides the point. Apart from the fact that this is Jean-Luc Godard‘s first film, Breathless isn’t meant to be anything more than a joyous expression of youth; an homage to the impulse. It is a bright mélange of joy and frustration, violence and noise, action and reaction, love and longing, and aimlessness; and while no one can deny Godard’s talent behind the camera, there’s something that seems wonderfully serendipitous about his first and most notable film.
Peter Wertz
Wertz of Wisdom 