Wednesday, April 17, 2013
What's New About the New Wave?
French New wave auteurs like Godard envisioned their films as a radical re-visoning of the static filmmaking of the French studio system. What experimental ideas or techniques did you notice in Breathless (could you explain in some detail)? How do these experiments change the way we enjoy a film? Are they engaging or annoying? Do they bring meaning to the film? Do they make fun of the whole idea of bringing meaning to film?
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Breathless had many different experimental ideas that broke the conventional rules of American cinema. There are many to name, but I’m going to focus on just one, the jump cuts.
ReplyDeleteThe jump cuts in Breathless lead to major discontinuity during the early car and chase scenes. These cuts do not show the car going down the road in one continuous motion, but rather jumping down the road in pieces. This is deliberately done, though I’m not entirely sure as to why. They ruined my enjoyment of the film because these cuts made it look unprofessional. The first car scene is the chase when Michel keeps passing cars before getting pulled over. The amateurism of the cuts makes this scene choppy and made it seem like the car was not traveling down one road, but multiple roads.
After he pulled over, a policeman found Michel and the jump cuts continued. There is a set of cuts made that present the scene as Michel shooting a police officer, but the two never share the screen and the presentations make the details of the scene ambiguous, foggy, and unclear. That discontinuity, teamed with Michel talking to the camera at various points before pulling off the road, make it clear that Godard is making fun of American film customs.
The lack of continuity early on in Breathless makes the film seem amateur in comparison to the Hollywood films previously screened in class. The choppy driving scene before a jumpy scene between Michel and the cop makes the movie confusing and take away from the film as a whole. Noticeable continuity could have a purpose in a film, but it seems like it was used solely for rebellion rather than a deeper purpose. To me, these jump cuts were a waste by Godard.
As Alex said, there are many techniques used in the French New Wave that can be very annoying to viewers such as the random (sometimes misplaced and confusing) jump cuts. There are other things throughout the film that draw you in more so than other films we have seen this year and in general. One example of this was the lack of true camera presence of actors. I'm not fully educated on terminology but what I am trying to convey is the relaxed approach they had while filming this and almost the amateur approach. For example, in the early part of the movie, Michele is driving down the road and looks directly into the camera and talks as if he is talking to you. Normally we don't see actors and actresses interact with the camera or even look into the camera. This offers that relaxed feel, like you are sitting next to Michele as he is driving in France. Another example of this relaxed approach is the language used in the film. Not only does Michele have some sort of tobacco product in his mouth throughout the film but he talks like he is talking to his buddies, having a casual conversation. For me, these things like laid back conversation draws my attention more than formal stiff conversations. People might think these actions bring more to the film and aren't just a shot at regular film makers. I believe that these various actions all play some kind of role in the movie. The almost personal connection you could make with Michele throughout the movie is importnat, the style that he talks to you at certain points like you are sitting next to him intriges the viewer more than the normal films.
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