Mario Brce

Jean-Luc Godard & The New Wave Movement

The dawn of the 1960s and the New Wave movement saw Jean-Luc Godard fostering some

of the most revolutionary cinematic concepts throughout the development of cinema.

Breathless not only introduced a new series of cinematic techniques but offered the

opportunity to entirely overhaul existing conventions of cinema. From utilising mobilised

camera movements to embracing the ideas behind editing a disjunctive narrative, Godard

began to lead the New Wave movement in cinematic history. Later works, such as Alphaville,

even continued to build upon experimental narrative structure and explored older theatrical

Brechtian notions to convey his own social commentary. Godard had created an undeniably

distinct field of exploration in cinema that led to a revolution.

The New Wave movement became as much a recipient of Godard’s work as it had previously

proven an influential environment for his films. In particular, the writing style and the type of

stories that emerged from New Age cinema had grown synonymously with Godard’s intrinsic

desire to develop something different. The idea for Breathless originated from the mind of

François Truffaut and not Godard alone (Andrew, 1987). At the time Truffaut had voiced his

stern opinion on the traditional approaches in French cinema in his essay, 'A Certain

Tendency in French Cinema,’ in 1954 and had found success in his work 400 Blows (James,

2009). His conviction to introduce new flow to cinema created a perfect marriage of the two

talents, allowing Godard to create a film that possessed a, “New Wave pedigree” (Andrew,

1987).

As a result, the New Wave movement had started to create characters on film that had a new

realism to them. Godard had found a character that was entirely driven by his own impulses

in his film Breathless, un-abated by the goal centric requirements of a linear narrative

(Andrew, 1987:375). Instead the protagonist Poiccard was instilled with a new authenticity,

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and truly seemed to possess a sense of free-will throughout the film. Poiccard travels, kills

people, steals, swoons women, and watches his favourite movie all without a distinguished

long-term goal. In essence we see the life of a gangster free from a strict storyline dominating

his journey and even character. In a similar fashion, the protagonist Lemmy Caution from

Alphaville explores the dystopian city of Alphaville without direction. Rather he goes where

the city takes him and serves to be the sole remaining example of real humanity. This allows

other elements of the film to be explored in great depth and exemplifies the formidable

mechanical presence of the city governed by Alpha 60.

Consequently, Godard was not set into traditional approaches to a mere scene brief or

scenario to work with such as the case in Breathless when Poiccard has a conversation with

Patricia in the bedroom. In this case the actors were given a scenario and improvised the

majority of the scene to give it an authentic quality with a more disjointed conversational

tone (Bordwell & Thompson, 1981:374). These techniques became a distinct property of

Godard’s revolutionary thinking attempting to document the life his characters reflecting the

aspects of real life itself rather than giving audiences with something contrived.

Alongside the writing style of the era, the technical innovation of Godard’s work brought

with it new possibilities in cinematic story-telling. One of the most predominant advances

was the availability of the portable Eclair camera system which could easily be taken out to

location for shooting (Bordwell & Thompson, 1981:374). This allowed Godard to travel with

cars, through corridors, amongst crowds, in cafes and smaller confined spaces and totally

embrace the first-person point of view perspective. In Breathless this is particularly evident in

shots of the city streets where the camera interweaves through crowds of pedestrians. These

scenes were shot with the camera rested in the cinematographer’s lap while sitting in a

wheelchair (ibid). Other spectacular camera movements include those taken from the

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backseats of cars, to scenes with beautiful interiors taken from within real buildings. All these

worked towards giving audiences the sense that they were witnessing the action first hand.

Contrastingly, this was also significantly important for Godard’s work in Alphaville where

many shots were taken from within confined corridors and spaces to permeate Lemmy

Caution’s feeling of entrapment. The Eclair and Godard’s use of it invigorated a revitalised,

intimate cinematography bringing a more truthful way of telling the story.

However when analysing Godard’s techniques in film-making it is imperative to appreciate

his style of editing which connects all his elements of film storytelling. Godard saw

discontinuity as more challenging and artistic than maintaining continuity in his films (Adair,

2007:55) and he used this in his favour to create a spectrum of effects. In addition, he utilised

these editing devices to re-appropriate theories of alienation from Brechtian theatre which

influenced him throughout his earlier life. This focused his audiences on seeing his films

beyond mere entertainment and drew attention to Godard’s commentary on the world itself.

One of the most prominent editing devices he exercised in Breathless was the use of the

jump-cut. In the first scene of Breathless they are used repeatedly to compress the time of

Poiccard’s journey in the car while simultaneously accelerating the pace of the story. In

addition, the use of the technique allowed his camera angles to leap into the action rather than

waste time with transitions (Rushdie, 2005:187). These elements not only created a different

stylistic feel to the pace of the story but also transposed Godard’s interest in Brechtian

methods to film, adding a verfremdungseffekt (alienating effect) which instilled a consciously

active mind in his audiences (Brecht, 1964:91). As such Godard not only successfully rebuilt

approaches to editing, but also the way in which audiences watch cinema.

Concurrently, Godard made use of alternative approaches to editing in order to communicate

critical bursts of information to his audience. Each were tailored to the nature of his films

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with an uncompromising sense for style. In Alphaville he employed the use of inserts

showing scientific formulae written in neon lights such as, “E=mc2” and “hf=mc2,” to create

an atmosphere of robotic autonomy throughout the film. These inserts evolve throughout the

film as the grip of Alpha 60’s logic tightens; occurring in expediting frequency towards the

end.

Similarly, Godard’s use of cut-aways and cut-ins build upon the same technique of providing

small flashes of narrative elements. In Breathless we see cut-aways of Paris, and the bustling

city streets throughout conversations to evoke a sense of the breathing city in which the

characters become entangled. At the same time use of quick cut-ins, such as close-ups of

Poiccard firing his pistol, create a sense of disorientation in the audience while still delivering

the action in the scene. In Alphaville cut-aways of mechanical objects and images of high-

tension power lines sustain Lemmy Caution’s pervasive state of being trapped in the

clockworks of Alphaville city. In this manner Godard creates a simple way of signifying

concepts and reiterating them throughout the film. Although today these techniques are

expected, film makers like Godard truly developed them to make them work as narrative

devices.

However Godard’s post-production techniques were not restricted to unconventional cutting,

crafting the soundtrack of a film was an ever present imperative for his work. The audio

mixing of his soundtracks is carefully balanced, creatively playing with elements of voice-

over, music and silences. In Breathless he uses bursts of jazzy music to intensify moments of

drama while at the same time letting it lightly fill scenes when the characters are travelling

throughout spaces. In this way Godard begins to blur the diegetic and non-diegetic

soundscape. In Breathless when Patricia ascends the brightly lit escalator, the score almost

seems to become part of her environment. In the same way we hear a track playing in the

background of the bedroom scene when we suddenly discover its coming from Patricia’s

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record player. Thus Godard succeeds in creating dualistic interplay between the film and the

life of his characters, allowing his audience to live within the same scene as the characters on

screen. Not only does this create a well layered piece of cinema but delivers Godard’s use of

Brechtian elements to the film.

In the same way, the intimate sonic features of Godard’s Alphaville created a perpetual sense

of sinister omnipotence across the film. Godard’s use of a deep growly voice over for Alpha

60 to deliver an existential soliloquy across the film continually imprisons the audience as

much as it does Lemmy Caution with its regimental narration. Yet again, the diegetic nature

of the narration becomes ambiguous, as Alpha 60 speaks both to the audience and Lemmy

Caution. In doing so, Godard successfully transforms audience members into citizens of the

city of Alphaville being targeted by the brainwashing stream of consciousness fostered by

Alpha 60. This becomes particularly evident when Alpha 60 speaks in isolation with all other

sound components of the film being removed during elaborate cut-aways featuring

mechanical devices. Through these cinematic elements Godard not only successfully marries

symbolism to his Brechtian influences but also invents an entirely new sonic palette for

cinema.

In conclusion, Jean-Luc Godard brought about a revolution in cinematic storytelling. He

succeeded by doing away with traditional editing techniques to effectively create a strong

alternative approach that conveyed key information to his audiences in a stylistic manner.

Above all, his immaculate sense for filmic tone and utility over the instruments of his art

allowed him to communicate his own commentary on the world innovatively. Breathless and

Alphaville, like many Godard films, remain exemplar instances of great cinematic

achievement.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Andrew, D. (Ed.). (1987). Breathless: Old As New.

Bordwell & Thompson, K. (1981). Film Art: An Introduction. New York: Knopf.

Brecht, B. (1964). Brecht on Theatre. (Ed. and trans.) John Willett. New York: Hill and

Wang. pp 91.

Nowell-Smith, G. (2001). Paris Match: Godard and Cashiers. Sight and Sound, 11, 6. pp 19-

21.

Adair, G. (2008). New Statesman, 7/7/2008, Vol. 137 Issue 4904, p55-56.

James, N. (2009). Sight & Sound, Jul2009, Vol. 19 Issue 7, p5-5.

FILMOGRAPHY

Breathless, 1960. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

France: Les Productions Georges de Beauregard.

Alphaville, 1965. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

France: Athos Films.

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