The editing often appears abrupt, disregarding the raccord between two consecutive shots. However, instead of harming it, it imparts a remarkable touch of personality. [spoiler] This can be observed when Michel flirts with Patricia in his car. The editing introduces a new shot with each new flirtation, sacrificing visual continuity in a self-referential montage. In one of his attempts to steal cars, Michel disappears running from right to left in one shot, only to reappear from the left in the next, contrary to the recommendations of classical norms. [/spoiler]

On the other hand, the realistic treatment of sound is sacrificed. [spoiler] Sound effects (such as gunshots) and the music used vary in volume and realism between shots. [/spoiler] This is a consequence of the technical equipment employed.

It's worth noting that in some scenes, characters address the audience, as seen at the beginning of the film when Michel turns to the camera to address the audience (which is known as breaking the fourth wall): [spoiler] "If you don't like the beach, if you don't like the mountains...". And at the end, when he declares, "I'm fed up and tired," in a kind of public confession that marks the final outcome, leading to his death. [/spoiler]

Moreover, the film frequently employs narrative elements that make explicit references to the plot. [spoiler] Typically, these are titles appearing on cinema posters introduced in close-ups clearly alluding to the film's resolution. On another occasion, as Michel and Patricia enter the cinema with a close-up of them kissing, the dialogue from the projected film is heard, containing explicit references to one of the key themes: the impossibility of love. [/spoiler]

To conclude, something that not many people know is that Raoul Coutard, the director of photography, recounted that Jean-Luc Godard expressed the decision to depart from conventional practices during filming, opting for the use of natural light. In the film selection process, Coutard mentioned Ilford HPS as his preferred choice. Upon consulting Ilford in England, they were informed that HPS film was not available for cinema, only for photography. The factory produced 17.5-meter film strips for photography, with different perforations than those of cinema cameras.

Faced with this limitation, Godard decided to splice multiple 17.5-meter strips to form film reels, using the Cameflex camera with perforations more similar to Leica. Despite professional skepticism, this choice was implemented. Additionally, to enhance results with HPS, experiments were conducted with the photo developer phenidone. In collaboration with chemist Dubois from GTC laboratories, they successfully doubled the emulsion sensitivity.

However, a challenge arose when attempting to develop the film in a phenidone bath, as GTC laboratories faced technical limitations. The laboratory machines were set to process 3000 meters of film per hour, all using the same bath according to Kodak standards. Although Godard requested special treatment for his 1000 meters in 24 hours, the laboratories initially refused due to incompatibility with their standard procedures.

Luck favored the production, as GTC laboratories had an unused machine, designated for tests, which allowed the development of the Ilford films in a bath designed by themselves, with the flexibility to manage time at their discretion. Coutard emphasized that the worldwide success of "À bout de souffle" is undoubtedly attributed to Godard's imagination, his decision-making at the right moment, and also to Godard's determination in splicing pieces of 17.5-meter Ilford film, miraculously securing the use of a machine at GTC laboratories.

The use of high-sensitivity film allows, consequently, shooting in natural indoor and outdoor settings with minimal additional lighting, resulting in a photograph with grain yet sharpness that resembles the tones of "american black" (noir films) often referred to. But it's not merely an "aesthetic touch"; it's about capturing these natural spaces as documentary images, as manifestations of life in its development (there are numerous outdoor shots where pedestrians look at the camera with curiousity), within an authentic, unaltered context that corresponds to recognizable places, identified by the viewer as part of their own life.