Director
Jean-Luc Godard
Leading Actors/Actresses
Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Daniel Boulanger, Jean-Pierre Melville
Genre
Crime, Drama, New Wave
Language
French
Awards
Date of Release
1960
Producer
Georges de Beauregard
Setting and Context
Paris, 1960s
Narrator and Point of View
Point of view is that of Michel and Patricia
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic, Noir, Fanciful, Romantic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Michel, Antagonist: The police
Major Conflict
Michel has killed a police officer and needs to flee Paris, but doesn't have any money to do so.
Climax
Michel is shot in the back by the police after Patricia turns him in.
Foreshadowing
While interviewing a writer with other reporters Patricia hears the man say that an unfaithful woman is more moral than a man who walks out. This foreshadows the fact that Patricia will betray him.
Later, Michel tells Patricia, "Informers inform, burglars burgle, murderers murder, lovers love," as if these are all inevitabilities. This foreshadows the fact that Patricia will betray him to the police, going from lover to informer in the blink of an eye.
Understatement
Many of Michel's responses to conflict are understated, as he accepts his fate in an unemotional way.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
This film marked the beginning of the French New Wave. Its employment of jump cuts, character asides, and a more fanciful narrative structure were innovative at the time of its release.
Allusions
Romeo and Juliet, Faulkner, Dylan Thomas, Jean Cocteau
Paradox
Given the initial opportunity, Patricia sticks with Michel when she finds out he is a murderer. Paradoxically she turns him in after showing him he can trust her.
