Breathless - Editing

Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless is often heralded as the most famous or recognizable film from the French New Wave period of film history during the 1960s. Breathless is often used as the best example of French New Wave to represent all of the movement’s characteristics like existential themes or the breaking of many of film’s established rules. However, it is the editing in Breathless that sets this film apart and the clever and unique ways in which the editing conveys themes in the film.

Godard’s Breathless is almost always referenced in discussions about film editing because of the film’s use of jump cuts, or shots in which the same subject in both shots is varied slightly, giving the impression that time has “jumped” or is no longer continuous. Godard uses this technique several times in Breathless, including when main characters Michael and Patricia ride in a convertible together. As Patricia is described, jump cuts insinuate that time has passed as the audience is focused in on Patricia’s appearance. Although, some consider Godard’s jump cuts to be nothing more than simply following the orders of a producer who demanded the film be cut for the sake of running time, I believe that this editing technique is employed to accentuate the underlying themes in the film. The main character in the film, Michael is an apathetic and disconnected youth who has no regard for human compassion or life and his reckless behavior is emphasized by the editing technique in this film. The jump cuts, a discontinuous technique, suggest that the audience only see what is important in this film and at times seems reckless or irresponsible, just as Michael’s character is. For example, after Michael shoots and kills a police officer, for almost no apparent reason, a jump cut is used to show Michael in Paris, making no attempt to hide from authorities.

In summation, Godard’s Breathless will always be a great example of French New Wave, but the editing techniques in this film is what makes it legendary in film history. Jump cuts are employed in this film for an artistic and intellectual response because they represent the emotional qualities of the main character.