When I was a teenager in a little town of about 6,000 people, we had a tiny independent cinema. This was where I first discovered French films from Jean Pierre Jeunet’s war epic A Very Long Engagement to the star making performance of Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose. They say you can’t really be a film buff without falling in love with French cinema due to its sheer history, the unique narrative structures employed by French cinema, and their innovation, especially the French New Wave. Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague is not only a homage to the revolutionary French New Wave of cinema but to film making itself. 

From Director Richard Linklater, Nouvelle Vague is the story of Jean-Luc Godard making Breathless. The film is a love letter to the revolutionary magic of the French New Wave and a homage to Godard's influential 1960 film, capturing its youthful dynamism and creative chaos.

The French New Wave, the focus of Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, is the making of Godard’s revolutionary Breathless, the star in this new cinematic movement. Gone were polished studio shoots to more handheld, location based, director driven work. Critics have become filmmakers, driven to make films that more reflect their view of the world. 

You don’t have to have that much knowledge of the French New Wave (I had a Wikipedia summary amount of knowledge about it) to truly enjoy this film. Essentially it is a story of young friends coming together to craft something special - a pretty universal theme.

The little ensemble cast is incredible here, aided by Linklater's deft directorial touches - the painstaking reaction of sequences from Breathless, exquisite monochrome shots that perfectly fit the era, and the subtle recreation of 60’s Paris. 

Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague is not only a homage to the revolutionary French New Wave of cinema but to film making itself.

★★★★