Film Journal: The Breathless (1960) and Blow up (1966)
The camera style (shots and movement) of the film Breathless can be described as a bold visual style that attracts much attention for motion pictures. The police shooting Michel in the streets after an evasive and long death run signifies the motion picturesque that utilizes camaflex camera techniques. Such camera style, As a result, makes Godard wants to draw a picture of unsuited illusions not so best framed for my existentially challenging times in relationships.
The Editing style of the film builds on the hyperactive style that use abrupt jump cuts to retain its meaning, content and style. The story line has been adapted through avid editing to reflect the classic American film that departs from the archetypal genre of exploration. Some examples of traditional and non-traditional style are the interview methods and cinematic techniques that have an effect to the accumulation of ideals to embody the technical and aesthetic elements of the film.
The film is full of literary and artistic references from very high and very low sources such as paintings, painting, poetry, novels, music, philosophy, and popular culture. This is revealed in the role of Patricia as the American left with the ability to peddle the Paris Edition of the Herald Tribune is constructed by her ability to wait to enroll at Sorbonne. The influential impact that I derive from the characters is that both Michel and Patricia portrays the cunning tendencies as evidenced by the accidental possession of a gun by Michel as well as the involvement of Patricia with him inspiring an inclination of fascination, sex and affection within the spectrum of the gangster persona. The reference to popular culture in the Film Breathless reflects the influential and dutifully technique used by Jean-Luc Godard to portray the dismissal and detachment of the larger oblivious society and the authority at large.
It is my opinion that the character of Michel and Patricia captures the feelings of fascination above the morality as well as the naivety of personalities. This can succinctly be illustrated in the understanding that the film Breathless retains the power to involve and surprise the audience. Michel fits into the bigger metaphorical picture by epitomizing the amoral characters. As a thief, I am convinced that he idolizes Bogart and pretends to be tougher. On the other hand, I do not like or care about the characters. My reasoning is anchored on the effect of the choices and lifestyles. This is because, the betrayal, set up, and mischief embodied by both Michel and Patricia creates a mental picture of manipulation. This is manifested in the film Breathless where Michel spends most of his time escaping the police dragnet and hunting for his friend who owes him money. I believe the primary objective of such a lifestyle is motivated by the escapist attitude where Michel wants to collect his money and get the ability to escape with Patricia out of the country.
The color pallet in the film blow up juxtaposes the bold and muted earth tones to reveal reinforce the fashion and hype of modern filming. The dominant color is the red desert which shows a scheme structure. This reflects the provocative film about the voyeurism and a perception of color combination.
The principal locations utilized in the film are the mysterious Maryon Park and Peckham in London. This is manifested in the stylish, sharp and enigmatic sceneries of London streets to invite the audience to direct ambivalence towards the social commentary of beauty and rebellion. Through these locations, it is my belief that the film reveal the enduring social, cultural truth about its setting. The setting extensively paints a fascinating picture which reveal much about the emotional commitment and personal involvement of the media within the spectrum of situations that stimulate a synthetic feeling of pity overwhelming the natural feeling.
My most stunning experience about the photographer is his attempt to capture murder. This manifests a counterculture film approach that abides by the contemporary standards. The underlying questions that the film Blow-Up elicits are whether the photographer witnessed the murder and if that is true what the outcome was. The photographer in my view demonstrates a surreal touch of experience.
The highly effective directing strategies I notice in scenes or sequences is the coherent mise-en-scene. This enhances the strategic cast to allow a more than meet the eye experience. The photographer lives a decadent lifestyle characterizing the carefree London life full of drugs, sex and partying. The interplay between the candid pictures of the local park is a highly effective directing strategy where the photographer is engaged in the terrifying hint of mania because he spends much of his time at night dressing like a hobo convincing himself that he will effectively shoot the layout of stark photograph then get into his care to shoot another set of fashion models in costumes. The simultaneous arrangement of this events without changing the filthy of his clothing is in itself a portrayal of lack of creativity.
The meaning I take from the scene at the end of the film borders on watching the photographer in the film. This allows me to acclimatize myself with the tendency of the hero and the loopy colors that do not captivatingly create suspense. The film’s characters comes out as a as a commentary placed within the heartless fashion struggling to overcome the challenge of craftsmanship. This signifies an incongruously baby-faced lone wolf that is concerned with stalking his prey. Such is a sharp contradiction on which builds the concerns of the photographers based on the graphic fabrication and the trenchant mechanisms of his job.
Although Blow Up most effectively utilizes visuals to tell the story, there are some very interesting lines of dialogue in the film that contribute to the theme. What captured my attention was the dialogue between the photographer and the blond woman as illustrated below:
Thomas: Couple of minutes? I haven't even got a couple of minutes to have my appendix out.
Such a conversational approach Accordingly, I am meant to think that by tearing across London, the photographer reigns in his care and reflects some level of casualness that is not relevant to his career. Everything about the photographers is arrogant, footloose, and fierce. The complete fascination of the dialogue creates a mental picture of a society which is self-indulgent, languid, cool but very expressive of a host of frustration. This effectively reveal much about what the characters witness yet engage in the interesting twist that reveal empty emotions.
