hero worship

there has always been a line in the movie breathless that has bothered me. along the way there is a discussion about the relative populaces of france and the united states, and during the dialogue jean paul belmondo states that americans are lame because they like maurice chevalier and that m. chevalier is the worst of all frenchmen. while this line would not be out of line for belmondo's character, a rougish, bogart obsessied thug, i often wonder how much of it was the character as it was godard.

this would be one hero in my pantheon attacking another. i feel i might have to choose a side. on one is godard. and he has the added advantage of having the lines flow from the figure of mr. fucking cool himself, jpb. on the other is poor monsieur chevallier, unable to defend himself. with a champion's effort, i spring forward to his rescue. displaying that this site is not above hero worship, i tell jlg that he is wrong...maurice chevallier is a fucking boss pimp...and you(and belmondo) as a fellow boss pimp should just ease up and respect his game. i still love you jean-luc...now go to your room. and watch one hour with you.

i give you maurice chevalier