BREATHLESS (1983)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
The original French New Wave 1960 classic, "Breathless," was a frantic, jazzed-up take on American crime movies in a French setting by the notable director, Jean Luc-Godard. The Jim McBride-directed 1983 remake is a rock n' roll version of Godard's film, eschewing France for Los Angeles with a rockabilly vibe that screams killer, killer, killer. That's right, killer as in Jerry Lee Lewis's Killer persona or Elvis redressed as a amoral punk.
"Breathless" begins with Richard Gere as Jesse, a car thief who steals classic cars. He doesn't care about anything or anyone except having cash. In one scene, Jesse plays Jerry Lee Lewis music in the car he stole with all the glee and rockabilly one actor can muster. If you think you are seeing a strange, modernized Elvis Presley movie, you might be right. The background is clearly unreal with its deep red skies (I've always loved rear-screen background shots in driving scenes). This loud character could be spotted miles away after inadvertently killing a police officer but no. In L.A., someone strutting around the streets with his shirt opened and stealing newspapers from vending machines would not seem so out of place.
Jesse breaks into one apartment, seemingly a random break-in. We slowly discover that he knows the occupant of the apartment - Monica (Valerie Kaprisky), a French college student. She is fetching and they have lots of sex but, as she declares in one tremendously moving scene, Jesse is not a part of her equation. But Jesse doesn't fit into equations - he has no plans for the future, he just wants to live it. Meanwhile, we have a couple of thrilling chase scenes where the couple run into some sordid alleyways, punk discos, Mexican restaurants, etc. The rock music selections are pumped up and loud and truly drive the movie into glorious, high-pitched comic-book delusions. At times, "Breathless" feels like a kinetic comic-book, pulp fiction movie - it is no accident that Jesse is always reading the Silver Surfer (no wonder Quentin Tarantino loves this movie).
I don't take either version of "Breathless" seriously but this remake is an homage with different moods and a different style (there are none of the jump cuts that gave the original a frantic energy). The two romantic leads do not try to one-up Jean Paul Belmondo or Jean Seberg from the original. Richard Gere, though, is the one who makes this cartoonish trip worthwhile - he is also in on the joke. The joke is stylistic but the character's concerns are relative human - strut your stuff, live for the day, save yourself and love without inhibition. He can and does, but he is also at the end of his rope. A fatalistic noir picture redone as a lost 50's rebel movie transposed to a 1980's setting. It is not every day you run into a film of that kind.
"Breathless" begins with Richard Gere as Jesse, a car thief who steals classic cars. He doesn't care about anything or anyone except having cash. In one scene, Jesse plays Jerry Lee Lewis music in the car he stole with all the glee and rockabilly one actor can muster. If you think you are seeing a strange, modernized Elvis Presley movie, you might be right. The background is clearly unreal with its deep red skies (I've always loved rear-screen background shots in driving scenes). This loud character could be spotted miles away after inadvertently killing a police officer but no. In L.A., someone strutting around the streets with his shirt opened and stealing newspapers from vending machines would not seem so out of place.
Jesse breaks into one apartment, seemingly a random break-in. We slowly discover that he knows the occupant of the apartment - Monica (Valerie Kaprisky), a French college student. She is fetching and they have lots of sex but, as she declares in one tremendously moving scene, Jesse is not a part of her equation. But Jesse doesn't fit into equations - he has no plans for the future, he just wants to live it. Meanwhile, we have a couple of thrilling chase scenes where the couple run into some sordid alleyways, punk discos, Mexican restaurants, etc. The rock music selections are pumped up and loud and truly drive the movie into glorious, high-pitched comic-book delusions. At times, "Breathless" feels like a kinetic comic-book, pulp fiction movie - it is no accident that Jesse is always reading the Silver Surfer (no wonder Quentin Tarantino loves this movie).
I don't take either version of "Breathless" seriously but this remake is an homage with different moods and a different style (there are none of the jump cuts that gave the original a frantic energy). The two romantic leads do not try to one-up Jean Paul Belmondo or Jean Seberg from the original. Richard Gere, though, is the one who makes this cartoonish trip worthwhile - he is also in on the joke. The joke is stylistic but the character's concerns are relative human - strut your stuff, live for the day, save yourself and love without inhibition. He can and does, but he is also at the end of his rope. A fatalistic noir picture redone as a lost 50's rebel movie transposed to a 1980's setting. It is not every day you run into a film of that kind.
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