What is new, fresh and challenging about the way that mise-en-scene, editing and narrative elements

have been used in the film A Bout De Souffl (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959)?
A Bout De Souffl 1959 Jean-Luc Godard has many elements throughout it that makes this film new,
fresh and challenging. A Bout De Souffl follows the life of a car thief, Michel, who is running from the
police after he shot one dead after he was followed on a country road. Michel who constructs himself
as a French Humphrey Bogart, turns to his American girlfriend Patricia, for help with money and a
place to hide from the police while Michel tires to find a loan to finance their escape to Italy. In the end
the police catch Michel after Patricia betrays him, and he is shot dead in the street and the title A Bout
De Souffl comes into play as he becomes breathless.
Jean-Luc Godard a French film director and screenwriter known for his involvement within the French
New Wave, he rejected the idea in French Cinemas Tradition of Quality and believes that to
emphasise craft over innovation is what made films a great experience. Godard was very interested
in politics and in late 1960s formed a socialist-idealist group with Jean-Pierre Gorin and together they
produced a number of films outlining politics and became to an extent very experimental. In the
1980s Godard returned to more traditional fiction and since then made traditional conventions and
themes run through many of his films. Godard can also be seen as an auteur, with his distinct style
and use of homage and intertextual references to American films making his films so interesting to
watch.
In the opening shot of a pornographic magazine, Jean-Luc Godard sets the tone of the film as playful
and rebellious. The quote After all I am an arsehole, is an irreverent rebellious start to a film, and is
seen to be unconventional and unusual in the times that this film was made. The main character
Michel pretending and paying pastiche to Humphrey Bogart from the costumes and iconography of
the cigar, can be seen as a clear indicator of the French New Wave cinema coming into action. The
French New wave was one of the most influential movements in cinema. It marks the vibrant and
innovative films by young French directors in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These films were a
modern take on classics that reworked genres such as noir and musical making these new films so
fresh within the industry.
Secondly A Bout De Souffl can be seen as unconventional and challenging as it breaks many editing
and narrative rules and conventions. The lack of continuity editing and jump cuts being out of sync
with each other, can be seen as new, this can also be seen with the break of the 180 degree rule. The
sound motifs in this film can be seen to represent the characters moods, this can also be said for the
over use of motifs becoming recognisable. The sound being non-synchronous and not matching the
image can be seen as challenging as it doesnt conform to film conventions.
Next in the scene when Michel is driving the car it can be seen to be fresh and unusual. This scene
can almost be repeating shots and changing shots of the road without cutting away. Hand held
camera was also used which was also unusual at the times in which this film was made. Another
aspect of this scene is the on location shooting, this was less common in the 1950s as most films
were made in studios. The character singing, again is setting the tone of the film as rebellious, and
constructs Michel as misogynistic as he calls the women drivers cowardice personified. Jean-Luc
Godard also challenges film conventions in this scene with the break of the fourth wall, this is
interesting as in the 50s it was unusual to see a character within a film directly talk to the spectator.
Another construction of Michel is childlike. This is seen in the way he makes the sound of the gun and
is seen to be paying homage to American Culture and American Gangsters. This scene can be
perceived as fresh as it is unusual in the way it is presented to the audience and hasnt been seen
before in French New Wave Cinema.
Following this, the non-synchronous sound and sound motifs go from the crime music to the calm city
scape music. These two musical motifs are constructed as binary opposites as one is laid back and
the other is upbeat. This can be seen to be represented of the Crime Drama or Film Noir genre and

show that the French got their inspiration from America. This can be seen as new for the people of
France as it is something that they have never seen before.
Finally in the scene where Michel goes for breakfast and visits a girl, it can be seen as fresh and
challenging. The English speaking American rock and roll in the background of the scene can be
controversial as rock and roll at the time was seen as the devils music and the idea of the dangerous
teenager. It can also signify the consumerism and elements of American culture that have been
imported all over the world. The film is also self-reflective of the media in the 1950s and the culture
that its showing it is juxtaposed with high art, such as the painting on the wall and Patricia not liking
music. The reference to Humphrey Bogart touching his lips is suggestive of the notion of the world
becoming more global which is also seen in the iconography of Lucky strips which are American
cigarettes.
In conclusion the film A Bout De Souffl can be seen as fresh and challenging in many ways from the
way the film was shot to the way in which the film is represented and presented to an audience, and
how the French New Wave has influenced these ideas.