Kermode Uncut Film Club: Breathless

Mark Kermode is one of my favourite film writers and just recently he's started an online film club, which I thought I would partake in and offer up a few thoughts. The first of his intro's is embedded above, for the 1983 American remake of the classic French new wave film À bout de souffle aka Breathless.

After a 2 hour long fruitless search through HMV, Blockbuster, and every single other place in town that sells DVD's last week, I finally resorted to just ordering it from Amazon. At last yesterday it arrived on my door step and I finally got round to watching it just now.

I have seen À bout de souffle before about 2 years ago in college but I have to say I remember it only vaguely,  though I can tell you that at the time I didn't really enjoy it very much. That combined with the fact that up until I saw the above video on the Kermode Uncut blog last week I had never heard anybody have a good word to say about the film, had discouraged me from bothering to watch it in the past, despite my love for Richard Gere. Like Kermode im a big fan of An Officer and a Gentleman, as well as particularly his performance in American Gigolo.

Having now watched the film I can happily say I'm glad I did. I can see why the general audience and a lot of critics (particularly fans of the French original) would turn their noses up at it, but those that do have obviously missed the point of the film. It's a fun film, which oozes of being a passion project. Writers Kit Carson and Jim McBride (also director) have an obvious appreciation of the source material and the heavy use of Jerry Lee Lewis and Silver Surfer wouldn't exist were it not for them being fans themselves. Gere as well is clearly enjoying himself and is 110% convinced by his character. He gives a great hyperkinetic performance which is arrogant to the core whilst remaining likeable in a manner reminiscent of an 80's Tom Cruise character from something like Cocktail or The Color of Money, but without any of the insecurities. Truly a film with "cult fan base" written all over it.