Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Love in the Time of the Beatles
One interpretation of Breathless is that it is a film about love in the modern world, where lovers know little about each others' past, have trouble communicating, follow their impulsive longings, only to end up betrayed at the end. Is there more to this take on modern romance? Is there something deeper in Michel and Patricia's relationship? Or is there something less? Is love even possible in the shadow of the atomic bomb and the Cold War? (Don't forget that Michel has other girlfriends and Patricia spent the evening -- and might have slept with -- her editor).
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Breathless makes many statements on modern love that all end up to the conclusion that one would only get betrayed in the end. However, it also makes the statement that modern romance can, though it may seem as otherwise, end with true love between two people. Michel and Patricia’s relationship is an example of how modern romance could end in love. They both had the personalities and did some things that could try to suggest that they did not love each other. Patricia called the police on Michel to try and prove that she was not in love with him. Her reasoning being that if she was mean to him, then that has to mean that she is not in love with Michel. Patricia was always in denial of her love for him, but she shows her love by still running after Michel when the cops arrive and doing the gesture with her hand like Michel always used to do. On the other side, Michel had other relationships with many other women. What makes this different is that he felt as though he always had to come back to Patricia. Michel had a grand chance to leave to Italy so the police would catch him, but when he had the chance to leave, he felt the need to go back for Patricia. Usually, Michel would never do this, especially given what type of person he was. There was true love between these two though, which is the reason that the both of them always felt like they needed to go back to each other. Therefore, this movie makes the claim that in a modern romance, it is possible to fine love.
ReplyDeleteAs Eddie commented above, the film makes the statement on modern romance--that it will end up with "true love between two people." This was clear in throughout the film. This is especially because despite Patricia trying desperately at times to stand her ground against Michel, the two always ended up finding their way back to each other one way or another. This was especially evident when Patricia most likely slept with her editor, then the next scene she was with Michel. Then towards the end, she notified the police of Michel's whereabouts so he would be forced to leave, she runs to him in the end, then mimicking the movement of the finger across the lip. Not to mention Patricia seems to not only trying to avoid falling in love with Michel, but also falling into the typical role of women. She tries very hard to be independent with both Michel and in her career. Michel on the other hand, does not try to avoid loving Patricia, but tries to avoid the handful of women he could and has slept with: a role that could possibly be that of a "gangster" his age. In the end, the film tells us that no matter what you are trying to avoid in modern romance, that is what ironically what/how you will end up OR you will not end up with what you desire. Patrica is in love with Michel, which is what she tried to avoid, and Michel wanted to be with Patricia, but in the end he is dead.
ReplyDeleteJean Luc-Goddard's Breathless was released in 1961, yet has a timeless edge to it that can be attributed to its take on love. While watching this film, I glanced around to see the entire class sitting on the edges of their seats, immersed in the film, anticipating what would happen. The reason why I think our class took to the film so well is because of our ability to relate to it. Even though the times have changed with our relationships (through social media and texting), the same basic principles still are in question: does your lover actually love you or just lust after you? In Breathless, I see a clear example of a relationship of lust; they both sleep around, never express feelings based in personality characteristics, and spend more time talking about sex than anything else. I think it is a little bit of wishful thinking to define these intriguing characters as "in love". During the beginning of the film, Michel watches Patricia go on a date with another man follows their every move. When I watch that scene, I am truly scared for Patricia's life. That is the characteristic of a stalker. He has slept with her "a few times" and then follows her around. Yet, he also apparently has a wife of his own. I am sorry, but proclaiming this as true love seems a bit on the delusional side. Yes, in a classical Hollywood film the two characters usually end up in a fictional form of love. Although nothing in Breathless is even close to similar of anything in a classical Hollywood film, so how can we expect the theme of true love to be the same(as what we know from classical Hollywood films) in Breathless?
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the movie, Breathless I could not agree more with Elanna's opinion. I believe that as teenagers we can relate to this film. Although teenage relationships are not nearly as serious, and with social media they tend to be more dramatic, but the message behind the relationship is still there. I think that when it comes to modern romance there are many ways that Michele and Patricia's relationship relates. First off, they do have a difficult time communicating. There is constant difficulty when it comes to them sleeping together. They are often talking about being with other lovers, which in my opinion make the relationship uncomfortable. I do not think that there is anything more when it comes to their relationship; meaning that I think that often tease each other and therefore the relationship will not be very successful. In my opinion, love is definitely possible at any time in life. Sad times tend to bring people together, not just as friends but also as lovers. Therefore, Michele and Patricia can have a strong relationship during sad times. However, as Elanna mentions above, Michele and Patricia do not resemble the typical movie couple depicted in traditional Hollywood Film. In the case of His Girl Friday the two characters get back together and live happily ever after, or so the audience thinks. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Michele and Patricia because Michele dies at the end of the film. The last scene bothered me for a few reasons, mostly because of how long he ran through the street with a gunshot wound. The other reason being how Patricia dealt with his death, she didn’t even cry. This made me incredibly mad because the entire movie was about their complicated relationship and at the end she didn’t even shed one tear!
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ReplyDeleteThe take on relationships in this film does not seem to be one that is concerned at all with the traditional romantic allure and lengthiness of relationships. Simply, the interactions romantically between characters in this film seem to be based much more heavily on spur of the moment passionate encounters rather than long, built up traditional kinships that up to this point were normal. TO put it in a historical context, this film perfectly aligns with many sentiments of a post-WWII nuclear age. Life was precious at this point, largely in part to the disillusionment of the war, and the idea of living in the moment rather than being bogged down with the worries of fulfilling duties to others was inherently apparent. The threat of annihilation in a matter of seconds as well as a recovery from the horrible images of WWII brought about an era of rebellious attitude, that while not too rebellious in nature with all things considered, that would lead to a much more independent youth. Relationships in Breathless seem to carry no serious weight due to the lack of commitment to one person. This lack of commitment left open the possibility of short, instantaneous, and passionate interactions. The films younger audience would be able to sympathize much more profoundly with two lovers that have a rocky relationship rather than a couple committed to one another through a mutual love. To summarize, it makes sense that relationships in this time period would not carry along traditional values, and rather be much more heavily subjected to shorter “hook-ups” because of the growing threat of a nuclear war and a new found appreciation for life after a gruesome second world war.
I believe that the relationships in the film, "Breathless", can be appropriately understood in a rebellious context, meaning that the film itself relies on and emphasizes rebellious behavior, as opposed to traditional, step by step and thought-out processes. For example, the film itself is based on the idea of criticizing and making fun of other films; going against the grain and making a film that does not use traditional convention requires a "seize the day" attitude. It is also important to recognize that the film depicts a criminal in a way where the audience has the option to understand the criminal; this, in nature, is rebellious. The relationships and love interests of the characters in the film also demonstrate a similar mindset; the relationships in the film go against conventions and tradition. For example, the relationship between Michel and his girlfriend, Patricia, seems somewhat superficial; the two talk about sex more than anything else, and never really demonstrate that they truly love each other. This would go against traditional Hollywood movies, where two characters will actually fall in love. It is also notable of how suddenly Patricia decides to turn Michel in to the police; she has been dating Michel for a while, and the fact that she turns Michel in so quickly and casually demonstrates that the two do not actually love each other. In summary, the relationships in “Breathless” can be summarized as rebellious; there is not as much commitment to the other person as in more traditional and convectional films.
ReplyDeleteMichel and Patricia’s relationship is distant and strained but still retains some meaning. The portrayal of their relationship in Breathless is limited and unclear in the style of French New Wave. Not much is known about either characters past, especially the basis of their relationship indicating that what happened before to them, while meaningful to them, is irrelevant to their current status. It does not matter who Michel or Patricia were, what is important is who they are to each other currently. The point is not that they are connecting with who their partner was, but they are connecting to essentially who they are. Their love appears to be shallow and superficial but they are really connected over a visceral feeling of mutual adoration. Their love transcends their physical problems and the countries that they come from. When Patricia informs Michel of her pregnancy and his possible paternity, he remains unfazed. A baby does not change the dynamic of their relationship because essentially does not matter as long as they stay together. They are also okay with the fact that the other has slept with other people. Their love is so personal that they are capable of separating sex from love for other people. The outside world does not matter to their relationship. It was Patricia’s concern with the rest of the world that endangered their new lifestyle. Michel and Patricia have an open and casual relationship but have an extreme intimacy based off of a mutual visceral connection to the very being of their partner.
ReplyDeleteLove in Breathless is a true depiction of modern love; the components of lust and doubts are vibrant in the relationship between Patricia and Michael. During the scene in the apartment Patricia is trying to withstand her lust and not “lay” with Michael. The lust of their relationship takes over the doubt of their love, as Michael asks Patricia how many men has she slept, he is comparing lust with love. Michael can’t count how many women he has slept with so Patricia gets the idea that Michael only wants to be in lust but not love. They have difficulty communicating what they want, even though Michael explicitly states that he “loves” her, but to Patricia it seems to as if he is just saying that to have sex. In the scene where Michael meets with his old friend he tells his friend that he thinks he loves her. How can you think you live someone, its either you do or you don’t, there is no middle! As the movie goes on Patricia helps Michael multiple times by telling the police that he was a nice man and only came around once and awhile. Her protecting him is a sign of her love for him. In the end when Patricia betrays Michael she comes to him as he is dying and hears his last words. Then she mimics his fingers on his lips symbolizing that she only loved his external figure but not what is inside of him.
ReplyDeleteJean Luc-Goddard’s movie Breathless offers a unique twist on relationships because it drifts away from what the stereotypical Hollywood romance is like. Interpreting the relationship between Patricia and Michel and whether it’s real or not is completely up to the individual. This new approach to relationships in a movie is what made this film so interesting. Michel sleeps around, but always returns to Patricia. Patricia calls the police on Michel, yet still runs after Michel when he is being chased by the police. These examples show the conflicts of their relationship that complicate the movie, but make it interesting. I personally think that there isn’t much of a chemistry between the two. Their conversations have no substance; they focus on talking about sex and nothing meaningful. Although Michel sleeps with other girls, he always comes back. I think this he comes back not because he’s in love, but he knows that she is a more reliable girl than the others. Even though Patricia chases after Michel while the cops are after him, she shows no emotion when he dies. I think Patricia did this so that Michel could die thinking that at least someone cared about him, but overall she was never really in love with him. To accept their relationship one must accept this new, nontraditional way of dating. Those that have a hard time accepting nontraditional ways of dating will probably think that the relationship isn’t very serious. I myself have a hard time believing it’s a real relationship because I’m accustomed to viewing dating in the traditional way.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this is love between Michel and Patricia. Love is not the mushy portrayal that we see today on the silver screen. Love is real, and while this takes it to an extreme, love can involve betrayal. However, at the time of the movie, it was impossible to feel love, when your heart was filled with terror, with the threat of the bomb during the Cold War. The perfect example of this is Patricia. Patricia is afraid to love Michel, because her heart is filled with doubt. She always had to look over her shoulder so that she was not double crossed or heartbroken by Michel. This is a direct comparison to the victims who had to sleep with one eye open, for it may have been their last night alive. She turns Michel in because if she could do that, then that means that she does not love him, but that is not true. She can turn her true love into the authorities if this love was a risk upon her life, as well as Michel's. I do not think that she slept with the reporter that night, I think that it was a scheme to see if Michel was jealous, or would cough up his feelings for her. But because of how stubborn Michel is, he will not admit to her that he loves her. Throughout the movie, the relationship between them seem estrange and completely physical. However, we see that these two know more about each other's past and habits just as well as anyone.
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