The Revolutionary Film "Breathless" by Jean-Luc Goddard

FILM MUSIC AFTER 1950: “BREATHLESS”
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The use of musical soundtracks in film is not a new concept in history. Historically, humans have used music in almost every aspect of their lives, implying that introduction of music to the film industry was not a new aspect. However, the use of musical soundtracks has been used in different styles and it is Jean-Luc Goddard that successfully experimented with this technique to transform the French Film industry. “Breathless” is a 1960 film by Jean-Luc Goddard. The film revolves around the life of an American criminal on the run who falls in love with a French journalist. Goddard directed this film in 1960 and it has been called a revolutionary film in the film industry due to its deviation from traditional Hollywood performances. There are various deviations from Hollywood movies, but this paper will focus on the aspect of soundtrack deviations in the movie. The main soundtrack in the movie is that of Piano legend Martial Solal (Fordham, J., 2010). Solal has composed more than twenty scores for movies in his lifetime and his score in “Breathless” was the first to introduce him to the movie scene. Both Solal and Goddard were inspired by a common aspect of breaking with traditions. Goddard did not give Solal specific instructions on the soundtrack, allowing the pianist to give his best in the movie which eventually marked adorable reception when the movie was released in 1960.
How Solal’s Soundtrack Deviates from Traditional Hollywood Movies
As mentioned above, Goddard intended to make “Breathless” a revolutionary movie in the theatre industry. According to Heller (N. 2000), Goddard was more of an experimenter and he used his first experimentation in the “Breathless” and it worked a great deal. Heller, however, explains that Goddard later on lost direction but he had already made himself a name in the theatre industry. He achieved his mission by making use of jump cuts in the movie, something that had never existed in the traditional Hollywood Movies (Heller, N., 2010). Morrow (J. 2014) defines jump cuts as abrupt interruptions in the flow of a movie while at the same time moving with the point of view of the audience. Even though Solal’s soundtrack is present in almost the whole movie, there are cases where there is discontinuity in the soundtracks to show a transition from the peaceful Paris street to violent and raging scenes in the streets away from the actors. Goddard skillfully employs use of cut shots in the movie and in the song so that the attention of the audience is not lost even when the transition is taking place.
Among the striking elements of transition and soundtrack is how Goddard and Solal manage to combine the environment in the movie and the theme of the movie. Hollywood films after the Second World War thrived on elements of violence and dissonance. As such, one expects the movie to be full of ragged and dissonant scenes. Goddard is not ignorant of this and skillfully introduces these elements. Unfortunately, there is a great deviation from traditional Hollywood which are more of focused on narrative approach. For instance, in minute 43 of the film, the audience is introduced to two young lovers Michel and Patricia in glasses kissing and romancing. There is then an immediate silence in the film as the film director transits to isolated and post-war streets of Paris where there appear to be scenes of violence. According to Proud (A., 2014), Goddard spent a great deal of his career working as a film critic. This exposed him to a lot of materials and literature that encouraged him to transform the French film industry and not to just ape Hollywood. His inspiration propelled him to direct “Breathless” as a unique and defiant film that has even be called “anti-american” (Gritten, T. 2010) because of how the film directly or indirectly criticizes American film industry. This is specifically applicable in the manner Goddard uses jump cuts in the soundtrack to depict that French film industry is different to that of Americans in Hollywood.
Other Musical Strategies Used to Replace Continuity Score
The skillful act of composing and directing a soundtrack requires enough preparation and understanding of the audience. According to Wallus (T. 2012), the composer must have the audience of the final movie in mind before composing the soundtrack. Traditional Hollywood films often use existing soundtracks to fit in the movies. Goddard came with a new approach of selecting a Jazz composer for his “Breathless” Film. Soundtrack editing through cross-cutting is another technique used by Goddard in this movie. Wallus (T. 2012) defines cross-cutting as an editing technique where film editor cuts away an action by moving the camera to show two places at the same time. In minute 53 of “Breathless,” the film director moves the camera by showing Michel and Patricia standing outside the building before immediately the viewer is introduced to a violent scene. This editing technique is enhanced by silence in the soundtrack before the change occurs, allowing the audience to sink in a moment of suspense. The silence introduced in the soundtrack is also used to allow the audience to follow the movie and not lose sense of direction. This eliminates confusion in the film and enhances its theme. Additionally, cross-cutting enhances the continuity by eliminating boring scenes. In minute 43 of “Breathless,” Goddard introduces the audience to a picture of Patricia walking in the street before moving the camera to show the two flirting and romancing in bed and finally making love. Considering that Goddard was experimenting with this new style to break the monotony of Hollywood films, this technique strategically wins the attention of young audience who were the target of this film in 1960s.
Another strategy that has been used to enhance continuity of the song is the control of the pace of the jazz soundtrack in the film. While the musical soundtrack is used to enhance or introduce and conclude scenes, one cannot ignore the skills used to control it so that the audience is not left out or caught surprised by the scenes. This technique works well with the short reverse shot in the film “Breathless” where Goddard does not want to jump forth and backward while the characters are talking. Goddard successfully created a rhythm of preferred length and tone in the film, making the audience to make every step with the music and the characters in the film (Myntangoinparis 2014). The rhythm in music is done uniquely to support shot reverse shots in the film so that there is no interruption in the musical rhythm and the intended message from the film director. Dissolve lapses have also been used by introducing silence before a transition in the scene, making sure that the audience is not surprised or confused about the film as the soundtrack follows the rhythm of the video.
Goddard skillfully utilizes cross-cutting to show originality of his film. In minute 33 to 39, the audience is introduced to light coming through the window before one hears birds chirping outside. Michel is sitting on his bed and Patricia is holding a tedy bear behind her back. The music is silent and Patricia is not surprised that Michel is sleeping in her bed in her absence. The silence of the music depicts that there is something going on between the two and the music has given them a chance. As the soundtrack turns on slowly, Michel seems to have made a resolution, a similar resolution that is on Patricia’s mind. Michel is constantly making movements for sexual intercourse with Patricia but she insists that for them to be like Romeo and Juliet (Goddard uses a cross-cut to show Romeo and Juliet at the window), they have to play games together to which Michel does not deny. Throughout the scene, the audience is kept in suspense of impending sex which does not actualize. The two lovers remain romancing together and flipping through a magazine with naked women. Goddard’s intention is to defy from Hollywood’s approach that every interaction must culminate to sexual intercourse. Indeed, this is the reason why the film has been called the “Critic of Hollywood” because everything the film director communicates is contrary to that of Hollywood.
The advantage of proper editing is that it respects emotions of the audience. Goddard was aware of this and this is the reason he chose French Jazz from Solal to be the soundtrack of this film. Proud (A. 2014) explains that at the time editing was making its way to the film industry, there was little regard to use of soundtracks because actors could easily introduce a transition through coughing or gestures. This traditional approach was, however, wasteful because it increased the length of the film by introducing unnecessary elements. The erroneous or unnecessary elements can be easily eliminated by use of editing tools. Editing is not a filming technique. It is only a means of enhancing continuity in the film by getting rid of unnecessary elements. The presence of soundtrack creates an illusion when the transition is taking place, making sure that there is a match between the moving picture, audible words from movie characters, and the soundtrack playing.
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