Honors Cinema

(France; 1960; Jean-Luc Godard) is one of the earliest, most influential examples of the French New Wave (nouvelle vague) style of cinema. A 1960 French crime-drama film written and directed by Godard—based on an newspaper article recommended by François Truffaut; with a treatment by Claude Chabrol—the film is about a wandering petty criminal (played by Jean-Paul Belmondo) and his American girlfriend (Jean Seberg) as they contemplate their next move after he’s killed a policeman who had followed him on a country road. It was Godard's first feature-length work and represented Belmondo's breakthrough performance as an actor. The film brought international attention to this new style of French filmmaking noted for its bold visual style which includes plein air settings; the unconventional use of jump cut editing; and other cinematic innovations. Breathless won the 1960 Berlin International Film Festival Award for Best Director.