Breathless was a movie I enjoyed more after I had left the theater and thought about. Of the essays we've read so far Neupert's used particularly harsh words in describing the movie's shortcomings while simultaneously praising the film for the very same things. Personally I think he was dead on the part where he compares Godard's movie to his reviews, which were called "quirky and elliptical." Godard was famous as a critic for often making countless references, and in the same fashion Breathless brings together dozens of influences, caricatures, comparisons, and metaphors in a beautiful, if perhaps not meaningful, way. As an amateurish viewer of the avant-garde and disorienting, I can only speculate what (if any) message Godard wishes to communicate. Michel is a heartless if somewhat charismatic criminal who seems to improvise his every move with little regard for the consequences of his actions. He smokes, makes exaggerated gestures we associate with a cheesy criminal character, and murders without guilt or hesitation. Patricia is undoubtedly a femme fatale who similarly conceals her emotions and ultimately betrays the protagonist. Both go through the motions: and yet not for one moment does the audience feel that the characters really believe these descriptions of themselves. Although Michel kills a policeman in the beginning of the movie, he later admits that he likes cops, and in a bizarre contradiction makes a cross over his chest as he passes a dead man. Patricia says 1/4 through that she believes informing is "very wrong", but near the end betrays Michel's location for ambiguous and unconvincing reasons. Each character inhabits a world that seems to go along with the plot in unrealistic ways, and the overwhelming impression for most of the film is that of two children romping in a massive playground. And then there's that bizarre ending, where Godard offers the final pieces of his puzzle but denies us the satisfying conclusion any true film noir would attempt. Ultimately Breathless is a film about acting. From the bed to the streets, all Michel and Patricia ever do is play games with each other, from the wandering dialogue to the casual sex that takes forever to get going. It isn't until the end that they give up the act, and circle each other like boxers in a boxing match (Michel loses, despite his self-professed aptitude for the sport) and demonstrate how simultaneously independent from and identical to each other, and they make together their last round of bantering dialogue. Michel backs out first into the street, where he is offered a gun, the symbol of his former aggression and power, which he refuses. It is only then, after the charade has ended, that Michel is perfectly honest: he looks at the camera and says simply "I'm tired", demonstrating for the first and only time his profound unhappiness and signals that he's giving up. As he's shot by police, he wanders down the street, having passed the gun as it was thrown to him, and despite the extreme circumstances continues to smoke as if out of a compulsion he can't escape, symbolic perhaps of his criminal identity. He collapses, looks up at Patricia, makes expressions, and covers his face, cursing them: "It's a bitch." The surrounding people misunderstand him and label Patricia as the "bitch" femme fatale, but she merely copies Michel's gangster-associated habit of running her finger over her lips and stares straight at the camera, challenging the audience with a question: "What's a scumbag?" (perhaps, also, who?). The audience is left with many questions, the biggest of which is whether or not Michel and Patricia ever actually loved each other. I think the answer lies in the last scene, when Michel is on his deathbed: in the world of Breathless, the most they can ever do is make faces.