À bout de soufflé is fast, cool, literate, entertaining and stylish. Just rush the words out and there you have it. A stunning classic. Loose, casual, and bad to know. This film is attitude. A knowing and intelligent film deeply influenced by American gangster thrillers will itself becoming influential. Look at who we have here: Francois Truffaut as writer, Jean-Luc Godard as director and Jean-Paul Belmondo as the star. This is the start of the French New Wave. Bang. Like a shot out of a gun. This is how the French do A Rebel Without A Cause - as Peter John Dyer said: "A film all dressed up for rebellion but with no real tangible territory on which to stand and fight".
Review of Breathless
