Breathless: Three Films by Jim McBride

Jesse Lujack is a streetwise hustler whose every move bristles with unbounded energy. On the run from the law, Jesse heads to Los Angeles to seek out Monica, the French student who has captured his heart. Jesse is a rootless drifter whose sole hero is the comic book loner “The Silver Surfer”. Monica is a brilliant student with definite plans for her future. Yet, together they are pure dynamite - in a tempestuous affair that whirls them through L.A.'s back alleys, on a desperate flight to Mexico, and finally to the tale's startling climax. This remake of Jean Luc Godard's 1960 masterpiece has relentless energy, an excellent soundtrack and features one of Richard Gere's finest screen performances. 

“A wanton, playful film, belying the stated despair by its boiling energy.” Time Out

FUGITIVES, COPS AND ROLL ‘N’ ROLL: THREE FILMS BY JIM MCBRIDE 

American director Jim McBride has an eclectic filmography. Emerging from the New York underground scene of the 1960s, he made one of the seminal films of the period: DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY (1968), which was a fictional tale of a young director documenting his own life. Following this, McBride continued to be an independent filmmaker, making personal documentaries, offbeat dystopian science fiction, and even a softcore sex comedy. 

Then in the 1980s, McBride found himself working within the mainstream Hollywood system, creating three exhilarating features: BREATHLESS (1983) is a remake of the Jean Luc Godard classic and is often highlighted as a favourite film by Quentin Tarantino; THE BIG EASY (1986) is the sassy and sultry crime thriller with a wicked sense of humour; and GREAT BALLS OF FIRE (1989) is a biopic about Jerry Lee Lewis, the controversial wild man of 1950s’ rock ‘n’ roll. 

Triskel Arts Centre is not only screening these three movies but Jim McBride will be in attendance to take part in Q&As following THE BIG EASY and GREAT BALLS OF FIRE.