Two in the Wave is a documentary about the relationship between legendary filmmakers, film lovers, and friends, Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. From different sides of the tracks, Truffaut from a lower-class, French background and Godard a Swiss bourgeois, the two, pioneering directors ushered in The French New Wave with their feature debuts - Truffaut's semi-autobiographical The 400 Blows in 1959 and Godard's Breathless in 1960 (which was based on a story by Truffaut). Two in the Wave features loads of clips from the two directors' films, news footage, and interviews including many with Jean-Pierre Leaud, the star of many of their films, most notably as Truffaut's alter-ego Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows as well as in a short and three subsequent feature films that followed Doinel's life and adventures in the actual span of twenty years. Though Truffaut and Godard were bffs during the epic decade of the Nouvelle Vague, the two had an equally epic and unfortunate falling out in 1968 over politics and egos. Two in the Wave is a must-see for fans of the iconic filmmakers, the genre, and film geeks. Ends tomorrow, June 10th, at the Film Forum.
Also conveniently playing at the Film Forum is J-LG's seminal Breathless (or A bout de souffle) starring Godard regular Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. In honor of its 50th anniversary(!), the film has been restored so you can vividly see Belmondo's tres cool bad-boy Michel and Seberg's stiff and unnatural but effortlessly stylish and adorable Patricia stroll down Parisian streets, bicker and banter, smoke les cigarettes, have staring contests, and run from the cops. Breathless broke cinematic rules by shooting without permits, having the actors improvise, introducing jump-cuts, overlapping dialogue, and staring directly into the camera (and much more). Godard continues to influence countless filmmakers with his daring, groundbreaking film and has even inspired fashion designers Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte to redesign Patricia's New York Herald Tribune t-shirt. Go see (or re-see) the breathtakingly chic Breathless soon. It's just been extended at the Film Forum for a limited time.
Jean-Luc Godard once said to make a film, "all you need is a gun and a girl." With Breathless, the auteur proves his formula works!
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