‘Nouvelle Vague’: Richard Linklater’s Jean-Luc Godard Tribute Goes Behind the Scenes of ‘Breathless’ To Celebrate French New Wave

Alci Rengifo

French New Wave appeared at the right time at the dawn of the 1960s, as rebellion filled the air and a new generation began questioning everything, including art forms. While many of the names behind this highly influential cinematic movement are legendary, it is easy to forget the core group started as a bunch of film critics. Richard Linklater’s highly enjoyable “Nouvelle Vague” (“New Wave” in English) starts with that bit of cinematic history and becomes a celebration of the very act of filmmaking. Its hero is rightfully Jean-Luc Godard as he shoots “Breathless,” a classic that remains influential on film students and directors unconsciously before they ever watch a Godard title. In classic Linklater fashion, the layers are even richer than the initial premise. 

Linklater begins in 1959 Paris. Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) forms part of the eccentric group of cinephiles and critics who write for “Cahiers du cinema.” He is growing impatient at watching fellow writers like François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) and Éric Rohmer (Côme Thieulin) gain prominence with their films, which challenge old molds while displaying all they have learned from the great directors they worship. Producer Georges de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfürst) is not excited about a very experimental project Godard pitches, but he does like a treatment by Truffaut about two lovers on the run. If Godard agrees to do that story Beauregard can promise a small but sufficient budget. The young auteur already has his lead in mind, Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin), charismatic actor and amateur boxer. To truly seal the deal, he makes the bold decision to approach emerging American star Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch). She agrees out of a desire to be part of the exciting work coming out of France. Seberg is not prepared for Godard’s own unique methods, which is akin to directing on the fly, pausing for inspiration and improvising a script on the spot.

The resulting film, “Breathless,” would put Godard on the map and forever define the public identities of its stars. Its use of jump cuts and the sexy, anarchic tale of a young American running off with a dashing criminal would become an instant influence across the world. Warren Beatty was inspired by it to produce and star in “Bonnie & Clyde” in the United States, helping launch the New Hollywood era. Part of the fun of “Nouvelle Vague” is that it looks and acts as if it has no idea any of that history is forthcoming. Linklater and cinematographer David Chambille shoot in black and white to make the movie look precisely like some cousin of “Breathless,” as if this were a lost behind the scenes film. It is even kept in the same aspect ratio. The effect feels like a tribute to the very spirit of the whole French New Wave period, when cameras were used with such freedom and bolder themes were being explored. By the mid to late ‘60s, the counterculture had absorbed much of the movement’s ethos when it came to its aesthetic and rebelliousness. Godard’s work would grow politically outspoken, promoting quasi-Marxist revolutionary politics in great films like “Weekend” and “The Little Soldier” (a film now even more relevant in the aftermath of Gaza). Jean Seberg would go on to become involved in radical movements, including the Black Panthers, and be targeted viciously by the FBI’s Cointelpro program, eventually contributing to her early death at age 40. Again, this movie has no idea any of this will happen.

With its real time feel, “Nouvelle Vague” is a slice of history that will also speak to anyone today involved in short films, independent productions or just trying to scrounge resources to make a project. The air is filled with that combination of tension and camaraderie that comes with being part of a roving creative group. Godard doesn’t have time for many takes, dictating what he wants, cutting, printing and moving on. This is set in an era before strict film permits, so Belmondo acts in a chase scene while telling bystanders it’s a film production and not a real emergency. The crowds at least provide free production value. Plenty of film students still operate this way. The crew has both affection and frustration for their director. As played by Guillaume Marbeck, who looks quite close to the real person (as does nearly every other cast member) Godard is a sincere, aspirational artist who explains his ideas in passionate prose while seeming so awkwardly subdued. Seberg takes to lovingly imitating him, even as in private she ponders quitting. Having no script and shooting on a whim were not her idea of being part of the French New Wave. While rolling the famous scene where her character sells copies of the New York Herald Tribune in Paris, the actor hilariously discusses with her co-star how absurd this all feels. Godard could care less since the dialogue will be dubbed later anyway. By the end of the shoot, Seberg and Belmondo have developed a friendship that sprouts out of sheer endurance.

Linklater, one of America’s most eclectic filmmakers, clearly loves cinema and cultural history. “Nouvelle Vague” arrives weeks after his film about legendary songwriter Lorenz Hart, “Blue Moon.” This movie is closer to his delightful 2008 adaptation “Me and Orson Welles,” about Welles’ Broadway staging of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” Like those titles, this one is accessible while packed with inside nods for the true expert on the subject. He pans his camera across a Cannes Film Festival audience watching Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows,” identifying Agnès Varda (Roxane Rivière), and Jean Cocteau (Jean-Jacques Le Vessier) among others. Roberto Rossellini (Laurent Mothe), another great and influential director, visits the “Cahiers du cinema” office to great applause and then gives Godard tips on low-budget filmmaking, before asking if he has money to lend him. Nobody has a mundane conversation in this movie, because their obsessions about art and film drive everything they do. Yet, when Godard is pacing around explaining to his editors the innovative ways he plans to cut “Breathless,” it is not a hack talking, but a truly creative mind on a roll. Linklater is celebrating one of the greats while celebrating that particular spirit of expression, so needed in times of ever stale factory product. This is a fun tribute to cinema, style, stubbornness and nostalgia.

“Nouvelle Vague” releases Oct. 31 in select theaters and begins streaming Nov. 14 on Netflix.