📖 Official Synopsis
Shot entirely in French, Richard Linklater's Nouvelle Vague charts the turbulent, revolutionary birth of the French New Wave film movement in late 1950s Paris. The narrative follows a tight-knit circle of passionate young critics turned cinematic rebels, including Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer, and Agnès Varda, as they reject traditional studio methods to reinvent the rules of storytelling. From writing scathing polemics in the offices of Cahiers du Cinéma to taking handheld cameras onto the rain-slicked streets of Paris, the film captures the raw energy, fierce rivalries, and unyielding romance of a creative generation that permanently altered the global landscape of cinema.
👥 Expanded Cast Profile
🎬 Expanded Crew Profile
🏰 Industrial & Production Brief
Distributed globally via streaming by Netflix, Nouvelle Vague stands out as Richard Linklater's first entirely French-language production . To recreate the iconic, handheld energy of late 1950s independent cinema, cinematographer David Chambille captured the movie on 35mm black-and-white film stock, complete with stylized vintage cigarette-burn reel changes to mirror the format of the era . While the film was shot on location across authentic landmarks in Paris, France (including Montparnasse and the Cinéma Le Louxor), the team utilized roughly 300 intricate visual effects shots to seamlessly mask modern-day storefronts, vape shops, and bike lanes, immersing the viewer inside the historically accurate streets of 1959 .
The Official Trailer
💡 Fun Facts
- The film was shot entirely in Black and White to mirror the aesthetic of the French New Wave.
- Richard Linklater originally conceived the project while researching the history of Cahiers du Cinéma.
- The lead actors underwent extensive training to capture the specific cadence and physical mannerisms of Jean Seberg and Belmondo.
The Performances
- Zoey Deutch: Excellently captures the charm of Jean Seberg.
- Aubry Dullin: Does an uncanny job of capturing the cool of Jean-Paul Belmondo.
- Guillaume Marbeck: A great job playing the moody Jean-Luc Godard.
✅ Pros
- Stunning recreation of the French New Wave aesthetic.
- Magnetic performances from the lead trio.
- Visually evocative cinematography.
❌ Cons
- Heavily dialogue-driven; requires focus on subtitles.
Full Review
Nouvelle Vague is a bit of a movie miracle, a great film about an even greater landmark in cinema history. The challenge of making an entertaining movie about the hip, groundbreaking creation of Breathless is immense, yet director Richard Linklater pulls it off with a breezy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants flair.
By utilizing the same black-and-white aesthetic and aspect ratio as the original, Linklater imbues the film with the sense of fun and camaraderie that artists experience in the trenches of a challenging project. In an era of bland, paint-by-numbers biopics, this film thrives on both style and substance, offering loving recreations of iconic moments while carving out its own biting irony and laugh-out-loud scenes.
The performances are uncanny. Zoey Deutch excellently captures the charm of American star Jean Seberg, portraying her as affable and patient while navigating a frustratingly loose shoot. Alongside her, Aubrey Dullin does a masterful job capturing the effortless cool and magnetism of Jean-Paul Belmondo, making the audience fall in love with him just as fans did when he became a global sex symbol. Guillaume Marbeck rounds out the trio with a tricky, successful turn as the moody Jean-Luc Godard, delivering the director's famous cinematic quotes without ever slipping into pretension.
Ultimately, Nouvelle Vague is better experienced than described. It is a captivating love letter to art and cinema that will leave viewers wanting to watch Breathless immediately after the credits roll. To watch both in succession is a true gift to movie lovers. Seek this out; it’s a testament to why we love the medium.
The film is a love letter to art and cinema. It will have the viewer wanting to watch Breathless immediately after, which is a true gift to audiences.
