Breathless

After much procrastination I finally went to FilmForum to catch Jean-Luc Godard's New Wave launching Breathless. Few things are as disappointing as finally experiencing a "Classic"and walking away completely unmoved (it's why I have yet to see Annie Hall even though I'm convinced it'll immediately be on my Favorites list).

Long story short, who knew fifty year old movies could be so ... fresh? The self-awareness, the rambling dialogue, the slightly off characters ... Quentin Tarantino is obviously a fan.

As gorgeous as bad boy Michel Poiccard was (those lips!), it's Jean Seberg's Patricia that I found most intriguing. On the one hand she's this sexually liberated young women, set on going to school and becoming a novelist because she doesn't want to rely on any man to take care of her. She loves Faulkner and classical music. The epitome of confidence and intelligence.

And yet there's a weakness about her character that's both annoying and sad. More than any other part of the movie (including the ridiculous jazz soundtrack) Patricia Franchini grounds Breathless in 1960 in a way I can't quite explain.