1.

How does this film illustrate the basic aesthetic principles supported by the French New
wave « authors »? To answer this question, don’t hesitate to consult my PowerPoint
presentation on the 400 Blows, wherein these principles are unpacked and summarized. 
From the basic aesthetics of New Wave, the movie Breathless follows several principles,
including the portrayal of realism, costs, and the director’s role. In terms of realism, this movie
was inspired by real events that were the robbery of a car and the killing of a cop. The
psychological realism that characterizes the French New Wave comes in when the director starts
to create the personalities of the characters to make from the complex ideas throughout the
movie, including themes of, loyalty, passion and even death. In terms of cost, the director, as
many of the French New Wave directors, tried to reduce costs by filming in a limited time frame,
which was about one month, and he also performed in real day-to-day settings with no extra
lighting. In terms of the director’s role, again, like the French New Wave cinema, the input of the
director is extremely significant. He composed all of the dialogues of the movie, and also
encourage these to be created while filming.

2. Analyze the way Michel and Patricia construct visually their masculine and feminine
identity in the film. Then explain why, according to you, their love affair isn’t working.
Michel constructs his masculine identity in the film mostly as a misogynist. His character does
this by employing the dialogue that objectifies women, as well as the action he engages with. In
great part, his facial expressions are a great contributor that helps the audience know the way he
feels about his gender and others. Patricia, on the other hand, is a woman that in my opinion is
confused about her feminine identity. On one hand, she strives as a student to become a good
journalist, yet, on the other hand, she has a partner who disgraces her all along the way.
Throughout the movie, I believe she is constantly questioning whether she should rebel against
Michel, use him, or do whatever he says. She does this in different acts, but there is no one
strong role she plays with her femininity. I believe that their love affair is not working because
they are looking for different things, have different interests not only in the opposite gender but
also in life. Michel says he wants a woman with particular physical attributes and so on, while
Patricia is unsure and finds comfort in her role as a student. 

3. Watch again, carefully, the initial sequence (from 00’38 à 05’50). How does Godard, in
this sequence, invent a form of “outlaw” of cinema? In your (short) answer, focus at least
on two specific elements taken from the following list: dialogs, visual quotes, viewpoint, the
position of the camera, editing, relation to the spectators.
There are a lot of elements that could be analyzed from this sequence, I will focus on visual
quotes and dialogue. In terms of visuals, probably the key visual aspect of this firs sequence is its
similitude to the last sequence of the movie. That is when Michel rubs his thumb across his lips.
This has served to indicate that he will somehow seal his actions, foreshadowing that he will
eventually commit murder. Another part of visuals is again Michel’s facial expressions that
convey the character's intentions, which will make this character in the rest of the film seem very
predictable, something not so common in cinema at the time. In terms of dialogue, it was
completely outlawed at the time to have the form of improvisation that Godard employed, that is
by making up the dialogues the day the filming was done. Another part of the dialogue is that
slang language was used and this time, which was new, the audience could connect on a deeper
level with the character.