Amid the chaos of a press conference outside of Orly Airport, the  novelist Parvulesco, played by Jean-Pierre Melville, coolly entertains a  series of questions. Asked by a young American journalist, Patricia  Franchini (Jean Seberg), "What is your greatest ambition?" his answer,  "To become immortal. And then... die," is both cagey and insouciant. 
Fifty Years Later, Still  Breathless 

Breathless     the tiny room scene is my all- time favourite
 

