You can thank Orson Welles for changing the face of cinema—and we’re not just talking about “Citizen Kane.” In 1958, Welles’ last (and arguably best) studio picture, “Touch of Evil,” was submitted to the Brussels World’s Fair. The two French critics who judged the ceremony awarded it the top prize, and both were so influenced by the film that they each made their first films a year later. These turned out to be Francois Truffaut’s “400 Blows” and Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless.”

A satirical pastiche on the film noir genre, the bare-bones “Breathless” plot is just an excuse for new-wave novelty: a small-time thief obsessed with Bogart (Belmondo) murders a motorcycle cop and hides out with his American girlfriend (Seberg) while planning his escape. Cue documentary-style photography, train-of-thought dialogue, jump cuts, fractured audio, and plenty of other techniques never seen before.

“Modern movies begin here,” Roger Ebert wrote in his revisionist film review, and it’s arguably true. Without the French New Wave, and “Breathless” in particular, it’s hard to say where movies would be today. From indie filmmakers with nothing but a camcorder, to quick-cut MTV-style editing, the film is a precursor to practically all that we watch today.

Putting aside the film’s technical aspects, one also senses a newness in its characters, emerging just when the Swinging Sixties were about to kick in. Belmondo redefined “cool” as the naïve nobody, a fool who chain-smoked because others did it, while Seberg’s quirky shorthaired student provided a sexy antithesis to buxom brunettes and Marilyn blondes. “Breathless” was something real at a time when tough-talking detectives and men in monster suits hammed up the big screen. It’s a strange ode to immoral behavior and reckless living, with none of it feeling wrong. Of course, like Welles, Godard has never lived up to the expectations surrounding him. But it’s nice to know that today there are still screens for even a spark of greatness.

5 Stars by Pavan Shamdasani.

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg. 90 minutes.

“Breathless” is screening from Dec 18-23 at Broadway Cinematheque and Dec 25-30 at Palace IFC as part of the “Modern Classics” program (see opposite).