Breathless

While on his way to Paris in a stolen car, Michel Poiccard, a small-time criminal, fatally shoots a police officer during a routine traffic stop. He flees and reaches the capital, where he joins Patricia, an American student who sells newspapers on the Champs-Élysées. While evading the police and planning his escape to Italy, Michel attempts to charm the indifferent Patricia, who remains resistant to his advances.

Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature brought a breadth of modernity to 1960s European cinema with its improvisational style, experimental grammar, and handheld camera work that captured the pulse of Parisian streets. The film subverts cinematic conventions, referencing Hollywood classics only to deconstruct them. With its minimalist narrative, Breathless remains an iconic testament to the French New Wave, its audacious rhythm and exhilarating sense of freedom still captivating audiences over six decades later.

Vincent Annen (CEC, UNIL)