À bout de souffle

Jean-Luc Godard burst onto the film scene in 1960 with this free-form and juicy homage to American film genres that he prized during his time as a writer for Cahiers du cinéma, the eminent French film magazine. With its lack of polish, surplus of attitude, yes-to-all crime narrative, and radiant young stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, À bout de souffle helped kickstart the French New Wave and made sure that the world of cinema would never be the same.

Alongside the debut film of François Truffaut (who also co-wrote the script for À bout de souffle), it garnered international acclaim for pioneering new styles in French filmmaking. Breathless was particularly praised by critics for its daring visual approach, but simultaneously adored by the audiences, drawing more than two million viewers to cinemas. Over time, it has earned a place among the greatest films of all time, frequently appearing in top-lists of filmmakers and critics.