Until the Last Breath (60th Anniversary Edition)

THE FILM THAT STARTED THE FRENCH NEW WAVE

A petty criminal impulsively takes the step to more serious crime by shooting a motorcycle cop in connection with a car theft. But even though he is now wanted, he finds it difficult to focus on anything other than charming a young exchange student into joining him on a trip to Italy.

Legend status has followed Jean-Luc Godard debut film ever since it was released in theaters. In one fell swoop, Until the last breath ( À Bout de souffle ) clean house with the film's style and narrative conventions. In the coup, it of course created a whole battery of new styles and formed a school for the French New Wave and several other generations of filmmakers who came in its wake. Pop cultural time markers, jump cuts, long takes with a moving camera (before it was actually a practical option), the use of existing light sources instead of artificial ones – the list of all the innovations Godard and photographer Raoul Cotard created in this film is extensive. In combination with the charismatic stars they found to play the young narcissistic and cynical love couple, they effectively captured the anti-authoritarian moods of the time. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg came to be the very definition of cool for a long time to come.

“ Changed the movie forever ” – BBC
“ Influential, Innovative, Incredible ” – Little White Lies
“ Modern film begins here ” – Roger Ebert
“ By knowing exactly what he wanted to achieve and how to do it, Godard succeeds in achieving a turning point in film history that is as clear as Griffith’s. The Birth of a Nation and Welles with Citizen Kane before him. ” – Roger Ebert
“ The film is at once playful and bloody serious. Godard can never resist parodying but is also honest in his intention to deconstruct the film’s mode of expression. Image and sound create meaning, though not in a traditional way. ” – Derek Malcolm, The Guardian