‘Nouvelle Vague’ review: Richard Linklater’s tribute to Jean-Luc Godard and ‘Breathless’ is good vibes only

2025 will be a very busy year for Richard Linklater.

boyhood And before sunrise The director has not one but two projects on the film festival circuit. Both are attending the New York Film Festival, and both pay tribute to real-life artists of song and screen.

blue moonThe first of the pair to hit theaters is the biopic of American songwriter Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers’ former creative partner. Linklater’s second film of the year, Nouvelle VaguePaying loving homage to the French New Wave movement and Jean-Luc Godard’s first feature film, it follows, breathless ,A bout de soufflé,

Linklater’s faith breathless And the whole French New Wave is evident in every frame. But can that love ever blossom? Nouvelle VagueYour own way?

What is Nouvelle Vague About this?

Guillaume Marbec and Aubrey Dulin in “Nouvelle Vague”.
Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez/Courtesy of Netflix

The year is 1959, the place is Paris and the French New Wave movement is in full swing. Cahiers du Cinema Film critics such as François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) and Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson) make their directorial debut, focusing on auteur-driven films above all else. One of his fellow critics, Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbec), is trying his best to make his first feature film. After all, in his own words, the only way to criticize a film is to make it yourself.

Goddard finally got his chance breathless, The story of criminal Michel Poiccard and Patricia, the American woman he loves. Although the film became one of the most influential works of the French New Wave, its production was quite disorganized. Working on a low budget, and filming in only 23 days (Nouvelle Vague reducing that number to 20), Godard radically improved the film, much to the chagrin of producer Georges de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfurst) and American star Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch). Linklater has completely reimagined that chaos, depicting the film’s journey from development to post-production.

Nouvelle Vague Formally pays homage to the French New Wave, but it is not an outright imitation.

Mathieu Penchinat, Guillaume Marbec, Aubrey Dulin and Zoey Deutch in “Nouvelle Vague”.
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

To immerse the audience in the world of the French New Wave, Linklater adopted some elements of its style. Told almost entirely in French, Nouvelle Vague Filmed in black and white with a 4:3 ratio, it’s complete with film grain to give it a vintage feel.

However, Linklater does not completely emulate the filmmaking techniques that Godard had pioneered during the production of breathlessLike jump cuts. Instead, he focuses more on attracting the audience How Goddard came into these techniques. For guerrilla-style shooting on the streets of Paris, Linklater introduced false mail carts that were hidden breathless‘ With handheld camera, cinematographer Raoul Coutard (Mathieu Penchinat). For breathless‘ In a long walk-and-talk sequence, Linklater dutifully follows stars Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubrey Dulin) as they stroll down the Champs-Élysées. Their main focus here is not Godard’s filming, but rather his plan to dub over whatever Seberg and Belmondo are saying in post. Instead of speaking in character, both actors wonder aloud what the rest of the shoot has in store for them.

Focusing on process drives progress Nouvelle VagueTaking a loving look back at the ups and downs of the film’s production. But the real strength of the film lies not in Linklater’s embrace of Godard’s style, but in Linklater’s own strength as a master of the hangout film. Yes, it’s compelling to watch Godard choreograph a scene in real time. But if you have seen breathlessYou have already seen this scene. You know how they play!

Instead, what’s more compelling is the downtime between filming: the crew hanging out in a café, Seberg teaching Belmondo American dance moves, Goddard playing pinball. These scenes allow us to better understand the characters as people, not unlike the pillars of the French New Wave they became.

Marbach’s Godard stands out here. With eyes always hidden behind sunglasses and a cigarette always burning on his lips, Marbach plays Godard as a somewhat brilliant, somewhat irascible child. As a result, Nouvelle Vague It seems that many people both revere and make fun of Goddard. many Philosophical satire on the subject of film making. This mix allows Linklater to lighten up Nouvelle Vaguenumerous construction scenes, while also paying respect to the person who created breathless possible.

At times, Linklater’s reverence can take over Nouvelle Vague,

Aubrey Dulin and Zoey Deutch in “Nouvelle Vague”.
Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez/Courtesy of Netflix

However, sometimes, reverence for breathless can take charge Nouvelle Vaguefor the worse. Linklater and screenwriters Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo, whose screenplay was adapted into French by Michel Halberstadt and Laetitia Masson, dutifully cataloged the entire 20-day story. breathless Shoot. They hit major beats fast. Here’s how Goddard filmed Mitchell’s shootout with a policeman! Here’s how he got the shot of the Paris street lamps turning on behind Michelle!

Yet after a while, these brief vignettes may begin to seem Nouvelle Vague Going through the motions, as if Linklater had a checklist for each part. breathless He will have to account for the usual things behind the scenes. At these points, Nouvelle Vague The immediate feeling of the game is lost which makes shooting one’s own effort very difficult breathless,

However, overall, Nouvelle Vague It proves to be a sweet tribute to an influential film movement that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you’re a fan of French New Wave, come for this breathless Tribute, but stay for the hangout vibes.

Nouvelle Vague Reviewed outside the New York Film Festival. Nouvelle Vague It will be released in select theaters on October 31 before coming to Netflix on November 14.