Jean-Luc Godard’s film, Breathless
(1960), is according to many film scholars difficult to classify in terms
of genre. Relative to uncovering the philosophy espoused in the film,
genre-classification looks superficial at best. The film becomes a crime story early
on as soon as Michel shots a policeman for no apparent reason, and Godard seems
more interested in highlighting the film noir stylistic features, such as when
Michel repeatedly mimics Humphrey Bogart in running a thumb across lips and
perhaps even incessantly smoking, than in constructing a gripping crime-story.
Godard deviates from the crime genre as most of the middle of the film is
centered on Michel and his love interest, Patricia before fusing the romance
with the crime plot. I contend that the “hole” in the middle of the film is
actually full of Sartre’s philosophy of existentialism, which is based on human
subjectivity and the choices that are made out of it (and no other basis).
The full essay is at "Breathless."
