FREE ESSAY ON L'ATALANTE & BREATHLESS RESPONSE PAPER

L'ATALANTE & BREATHLESS RESPONSE PAPER

L'Atalante & Breathless Response Paper
Unfortunately, I was not all that thrilled with L'Atalante. I would have liked to have
been able to get a more in depth look into the characters lives before the start of the
film. The first mate was very well developed, but the other characters seemed a bit
ambiguous because of the deficiency of background information on them. Although it was an
excellent example of "real" mise-en-scene, the lack of action led to my lack of
interest.
One thing that helped me to recognize the "real" mise-en-scene of L'Atalante was the type
of set used (if you can even call it a set). This movie used location shooting on actual
boats and city streets. Also, the costuming, props, and lighting were all minimal but
sufficient. Most of these things are synonymous with "real" mise-en-scene.
There were a few things about L'Atalante that I did like. The photography of the
underwater scene was nicely done. I thought it was pretty advanced considering when the
film was made. The first mate's tattoos were cute. (Although they were seemingly shoddily
drawn on with magic markers.) I appreciated the actors too. The were good at what they
were supposed to do. Even though these few things made L'Atalante almost bearable, I
didn't especially like it.
Breathless, on the other hand, held my interest. There was a definite plot as well as
plenty of action and romance. I also enjoyed it because I had the feeling that everything
I would need to know about the characters was revealed from the beginning.
Lambert 2
This film had a much more "stylized" mise-en-scene than L'Atalante.
Some aspects of the mise-en-scene that caught my attention were the costuming and acting
styles. The Bogart-esque costuming and mannerisms of Michel aided in explaining his
character. Even though the film makers seemingly wanted the audience to never have a clue
as to what to expect of Michel, he was a fairly obvious and almost cliche character.
Patricia's casual yet beautiful look and manner was helpful in developing her character
as well. My expectations of Patricia were not quite met though. I would have never
guessed that she would have told Michel that she called the police. She led me to believe
that she had made up her mind and was following through with her plan of action when she
reported him. I think the writers were smart to include that part because it made me
wonder if I could trust anything I thought about any of the characters. This made me
watch closer and held my interest for the duration of the film.
In conclusion, although I didn't particularly like L'Atalante, it was a great example of
"real" mise-en-scene of its time. It proved to be much different than the new wave
Breathless, which had a "stylized" mise-en-scene. The great differences in these
categories was shown through the use of many things including character development,
costuming, and acting styles.