Best Video Film Series Leaves Audience ​“Breathless”

A swipe of a lip, a cigarette lighting another cigarette, a woman running in a striped dress: these iconic moments and more defined Breathless, the first feature of Best Video Film and Cultural Center’s July film series that spotlights essential French New Wave cinema.

The groundbreaking 1960 film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, while cinephiles consider to be one of the greatest movies of all time, brought fans of all ages to the Hamden video store and gathering place last night for the joy of seeing a classic with a crowd. The monthly series, which features either a new theme, genre, or director each month, continues every Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a $7 admission fee, though it is free for Best Video members to attend. And yes, everyone who attends gets free hot and fresh popcorn made in house.

According to executive director Julie Smith, there has been a quite a good response to all of their previous series over the past few months, which have included films by Ingmar Bergman, Elaine May, and Preston Sturges. Staff have already planned most of the coming month’s selections. 

September will feature films by director Martin Scorsese, selected through a poll on Instagram, and October will feature seasonally appropriate horror films chosen and presented by Best Video members.

Smith explained that the whole idea of scheduling out is to be able to ​“do more programming around the screenings.”

“Maybe we have a vendor with a tie in to the theme, or another nonprofit involved,” she added. ​“It’s giving us the ability to make it a little more robust than just a screening series.”

The ideas for which themes and films to choose come from various sources, including requests from members and patrons as well as from staff. ​“It really comes from everywhere,” she said.

This month’s genre, French New Wave, ​“was what felt fun for the summer,” Smith said, noting that event coordinator Teo Hernandez came up with the idea. The next two films in the series, The 400 Blows and Hiroshima Mon Amour, will be shown on July 18 and July 25, respectively. 

One might say that a film whose first line of dialogue translates into ​“after all, I’m an asshole” tells you exactly where it’s going, but since it is peak French New Wave, it is best to leave your expectations aside and take the ride. The speaker of that line, thief and killer on the run Michel (played by the slightly awkward yet super sexy Jean-Paul Belmondo) worships Humphrey Bogart, taking on many of his attributes, like chain-smoking and rubbing his lips in a suggestive manner. He’s a tough guy like the characters Bogey plays — or is he? Patricia, the American journalist in Paris he loves (played by the luminous Jean Seberg), has a much softer edge — or does she? Both are playing a game that involves murder, misrepresentation, and more than a dash of delusion, but they look oh-so-cool while doing it. 

In a defining moment from the beginning of the film, Michel places his hat on Patricia’s head before walking away to make a call, saying he will only be gone for a second. She replies with ​“the French always say one second when they mean five minutes,” while smoking and smiling. Time as a promise both true and false continues to be a theme throughout the film. No one is who they appear to be because they are not even sure who they are themselves. Lies unfold and multiply. Scenes jump from one to another without disorientating the viewer. Rather, they let the film play out in a more documentarian style that gives the action and narrative a more realistic and grittier tone. Yet it is never not charming and playful, and in a much different way than the types of films old Bogey himself might bless with his suaveness. 

The audience laughed at many a scene throughout the film, especially when Michel adopted Bogart’s mannerisms and spoke of the cowardice of others, all while he himself evaded his own responsibilities. Still Godard’s film never ceased to enthrall, whether he was letting his actors break the fourth wall or using the Parisian setting to highlight the romance and adventure. A scene that finds all the street lights turning on simultaneously while Michel stands alone near a parked car even elicited an audible gasp from this reporter. 

I, of course, won’t spoil the movie for anyone, but there is a scene where Patricia asks a man that is being interviewed ​“what is your greatest ambition in life?” He answers, ​“to become immortal … and then die.” With Breathless, Godard and many other directors who left an indelible mark on cinema accomplished exactly that. 

This month’s film series continues on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. More details can be found on the Best Video website.