À Bout de Souffle is an important film, and I appreciate it, and I understand it. You know, I want to read much more about Godard and by Godard and about the nouvelle vague, but as a perceptive viewer with some film theory under her belt I think I would be justified in knocking the block offa anyone lame enough to charge, ‘you didn’t like Godard? Oh, you must not have understood it!’ The problem is, I did not connect to it in a personal, meaningful, lasting way.

And that is ultimately my main criterion here. I’m not a film critic, I don’t claim to be objective — I don’t even claim my work here has any utility for anyone else. The film failed to move me. I’m not much impressed by a director’s film — technical innovation and symbolism, I mean, it doesn’t increase my enjoyment of a film, though it may very well increase my appreciation of a film, but these are very different things. Subjectivity and objectivity; I’m only concerned with one. I’m impressed by depth and originality in the narrative, naked truth in the performances. This is why I find myself so entranced by Cassavetes’ films lately — they’re about human feelings and failings first, and while his presentation is striking, it’s only incidental.

In À Bout de Souffle, presentation may as well be the third leading player. Godard intentionally calls one’s attention to the filmmaking process through his use of jump cuts and interrupted dialogue. Natural lighting and wheelchair-rigged cameras also make the film stand out from the slick production of Hollywood studio releases. What he has succeeded in doing is creating an alternative way of making a film and communicating visual ideas to an audience. It’s rebellious and self-consciously free-wheeling. This film touched off the nouvelle vague, an enormously significant movement that produced other films I’m crazy about and many more I’m dying to see. Its importance really cannot be denied.

I’m looking forward to exploring more of Godard’s work — this film certainly promises great possibility. For my tastes, though, I need a stronger screenplay with greater meaning. I need characters I can identify with. I need a story that truly does leave me breathless. And that’s my honest, unpretentious truth.

The story was originally produced as a stage musical, and though all the songs have been cut, other conventions of the genre have left their mark in the set design and score, giving the film a unique feel and a lot of sensory interest. The film is beautiful to look at in terms of color and composition as well, and there’s no doubt that Wilder is in complete control of his visual output — especially when framing physical comedy scenes (note Nestor & Hippolyte’s barroom brawl and the montage of Nestor at work).

It’s the plot Wilder doesn’t quite have command of, though his one-liners and effective running gags save even the most absurd situations. I’ll say no more about that — not only would I hate to spoil anything, but I doubt I could explain coherently if I tried! At nearly 2 1/2 hours this is overlong for a bawdy romantic comedy, and the last half hour wouldn’t be missed if it had been cut entirely, but I didn’t find myself checking my watch often. The quick place doesn’t slacken, the leads are delightful, and the script is genuinely hilarious. It is by no means its equal, but Irma La Douce is a fitting companion piece to the truly brilliant The Apartment.