Breathless

Some films are timeless, and some are of their time. I never saw this one when it was influencing every filmmaker on the planet; we only rented it this year. And I have to say, it’s of its time. Watching it, I can see that it would have blown my mind in 1960, but it doesn’t now. All the things that made it so startling then have become total clichés by now, they’re been overused so much. The jump cuts, the nihilism, the amorality … try Bonnie and Clyde, or Badlands. But that’s not to say it’s not worth seeing. Belmondo and Seberg are outstanding, and Godard broke all the molds. It truly is one of those films, like The Birth of a Nation and Citizen Kane, where you can say there were all the films before, and all the films after.