The Revolutionary Film "Breathless" by Jean-Luc Goddard

FILM MUSIC AFTER 1950: “BREATHLESS”
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The use of musical soundtracks in film is not a new concept in history. Historically, humans have used music in almost every aspect of their lives, implying that introduction of music to the film industry was not a new aspect. However, the use of musical soundtracks has been used in different styles and it is Jean-Luc Goddard that successfully experimented with this technique to transform the French Film industry. “Breathless” is a 1960 film by Jean-Luc Goddard. The film revolves around the life of an American criminal on the run who falls in love with a French journalist. Goddard directed this film in 1960 and it has been called a revolutionary film in the film industry due to its deviation from traditional Hollywood performances. There are various deviations from Hollywood movies, but this paper will focus on the aspect of soundtrack deviations in the movie. The main soundtrack in the movie is that of Piano legend Martial Solal (Fordham, J., 2010). Solal has composed more than twenty scores for movies in his lifetime and his score in “Breathless” was the first to introduce him to the movie scene. Both Solal and Goddard were inspired by a common aspect of breaking with traditions. Goddard did not give Solal specific instructions on the soundtrack, allowing the pianist to give his best in the movie which eventually marked adorable reception when the movie was released in 1960.
How Solal’s Soundtrack Deviates from Traditional Hollywood Movies
As mentioned above, Goddard intended to make “Breathless” a revolutionary movie in the theatre industry. According to Heller (N. 2000), Goddard was more of an experimenter and he used his first experimentation in the “Breathless” and it worked a great deal. Heller, however, explains that Goddard later on lost direction but he had already made himself a name in the theatre industry. He achieved his mission by making use of jump cuts in the movie, something that had never existed in the traditional Hollywood Movies (Heller, N., 2010). Morrow (J. 2014) defines jump cuts as abrupt interruptions in the flow of a movie while at the same time moving with the point of view of the audience. Even though Solal’s soundtrack is present in almost the whole movie, there are cases where there is discontinuity in the soundtracks to show a transition from the peaceful Paris street to violent and raging scenes in the streets away from the actors. Goddard skillfully employs use of cut shots in the movie and in the song so that the attention of the audience is not lost even when the transition is taking place.
Among the striking elements of transition and soundtrack is how Goddard and Solal manage to combine the environment in the movie and the theme of the movie. Hollywood films after the Second World War thrived on elements of violence and dissonance. As such, one expects the movie to be full of ragged and dissonant scenes. Goddard is not ignorant of this and skillfully introduces these elements. Unfortunately, there is a great deviation from traditional Hollywood which are more of focused on narrative approach. For instance, in minute ...