As a tribute...

Breathless. I rewatched it this morning.

If you haven't previously seen any of his films, À bout de souffle [Breathless] is probably the one to start with. Probably still his best-known and most widely-loved film.

But you can't go far wrong with any of his stuff from pre-May '68. My secondary recommendations would be Pierrot le Fou, Vivre sa vie, 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, Bande a part, Contempt and Weekend.

After May '68, he turned his back on the audience in favour of making didactic political films. They're significantly less accessible than his stuff from 59-68.

But my one word answer is: Breathless.

Pierrot, Vivre sa vie and Bande A part are his most accessible. I would not recommend Breathless as an introduction. The amateurish-ness can be off-putting.

Check the plot summary of those and see what peeks your interest

How about.... what for it... "Weekend"?

Pierrot le fou is my favourite, and along with Breathless perhaps the easiest to ‘ease in’ to Godard. I’d also highly recommend Weekend and Alohaville.

Thanks, everybody. Interestingly enough, Netflix reminds me that I watched Breathless in July of 2015. I have little memory of it, which doesn't say great things about the film. But who knows? It was seven years ago. I probably had something on my mind that night and wasn't focused.

Nevertheless, I think I'm going to try Pierrot le Fou.