Week 4: Thoughts

Our group discussion of Breathless (1960) was the most compartmentalized discussion yet. I feel like we had conflicting interpretations or ideas about the film. One of my group members loved the film. I didn't quite enjoy it. I feel some of our members didn't know what to think about it. The discussion questions branched off into other questions about the film and things like youth, responsibility, financial states and gender. I felt that the discussion I had with my group was more meaningful and enjoyable than my viewing of the film.


We talked about how Michel and Patricia lived luxuriously. However, they weren't very rich by any means. A criminal and starting journalist student aren't vicarious titles. Not to mention their literal financial states aren't great and are controlled by others. Michel is looking for someone who owes him money. Patricia's funds are conditional and from her parents. They are the opposite of what we imagine to be rich. However, I thought it was interesting (a point brought up in class) that their carelessness, sense of adventure and freedom was the true essence of extravagance. It wasn't their social disposition, but their youth and naivety that made them extravagant.  It's what gave them the conviction to steal nice cars and buy Dior. I think it's interesting that society would value youth over this and that it would be perceived as the ultimate extravagance. Honestly, the film says this perfectly. I doubt older people would be so willing and go through so much. Even if it ended badly for Michel, he went down brilliantly.

This is where I began to think about Patricia being cruel, because she seems so disconnected from Michel. She's really disconnected from reality. I felt she was more concerned with the excitement and adventure of it all. Her character reflects her interest in greatness and longing for excitement. She's interested in Europe's famous artists, their stories and paintings. She also seems to fantasize, via music and stories like Romeo and Juliette. Patricia is twenty years old, and her involvement with Michel is treated lazily. I thought this was strange because her involvement with him was stressing me out. If she were older, she may have taken it more seriously. She didn't seem to question Michel for stealing and murdering. Even in death, she seems indifferent towards him. I thought maybe she was trapped in a dream state, or desire to be in a fairy tale like story. Her encounter with Michel seems so removed to her, since she can and probably will go back to America. I imagined she would, and would remember her adventure distantly as she was there presently.

The funniest thing brought up during class was the mention of it being filmed with very loose preparation. True to my interpretation of it being raw, the movie was filmed on the streets of Paris with no blockages or extras. In the movie, you can see real citizens looking at the camera and breaking the "fourth wall". I thought that was excellent. They hid it well because I didn't notice during the film. People still do that today, actually. People "vlog" (blogging on a video) in public and post it on YouTube. During many vlogs that I've watched, I've seen people in the background staring or looking curiously as things happen. It's interesting how things like that transfer in modern ways. There was no extra reading assigned to this movie, so I feel all has been said and this movie is widely interpretive.