Linklater brings his ‘hangout’ cinema vibe to the French New Wave era, centering on Godard’s attempt to direct his first feature, in this breezy, blissful ‘comedy’ (for cinephiles at least) that is nostalgia-laden and wonderfully cast.
Review #3,050
Dir. Richard Linklater
2025 | France, USA | Biography, Drama, Comedy | 105min | 1.37:1 | French, English & Italian
Not rated – likely to be NC16 for some coarse language
Cast: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin
Plot: Paris, 1959. A young Jean-Luc Godard is determined to make his debut film. Battling conventions, budgetary chaos and sceptical producers, he and his collaborators launch a quiet revolution in cinema, capturing the raw energy of the era.
Awards: Nom. for Palme d’Or (Cannes)
International Sales: Goodfellas
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Moderate – Jean-Luc Godard & ‘Breathless’; French New Wave; Filmmaking
Narrative Style: Straightforward
Pace: Normal
Audience Type: Slightly Mainstream
Viewed: Screener (as part of Singapore Film Society Showcase)
Spoilers: No
Richard Linklater brings the ‘hangout’ vibe of Dazed and Confused (1993) to the French New Wave era with this nostalgia-laden, warmly conceived and wonderfully cast Cannes main competition entry.
Aptly titled Nouvelle Vague, and shot in misty black-and-white, Linklater literally name-drops the who’s who of that most fertile and discursive period of film history, from the Cahiers du Cinema critics-turned-auteurs like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, to the Left Bank filmmakers such as Alain Resnais and Agnes Varda.
Even Rossellini, Melville and Bresson make ‘cameo’ appearances—be careful, as you might squeal in delight like an obsessive fan catching a glimpse of your K-pop bias.
Even the late Pierre Rissient, a renowned advocate of world cinema—whom I had the pleasure of meeting a decade ago in a casual sit-down chat at the Singapore International Film Festival’s lounge—has a sizable supporting role as Godard’s directing assistant.
You can imagine how blissful I felt seeing Linklater’s film, having read so much about those glorious times, having watched so many of these filmmakers’ works, and having taught the topic in my film modules for so many years.
“Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.”
The making of Godard’s landmark Breathless (1960) is the focus of Nouvelle Vague, with Linklater portraying the self-appointed cinematic genius with a sense of self-depreciating humour that probably eluded the rebel director.
For viewers unfamiliar with that era, the film may be a fascinating discovery, or you could simply see it as a fun ‘cosplay’ picture. If you are a legitimate cinephile, Nouvelle Vague will play out like a breezy comedy.
As Godard works with his DP Raoul Coutard and actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in ‘callously’ spontaneous ways—refusing to adhere to the script, making scenes up every morning, and frustrating the hell out of his producer—we begin to see how the iconic scenes of Breathless could have been ideated and executed.
Whether it’s really true or not isn’t the point, though it is certainly many miles away from the historical revisionism of, say, Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
In a year with Linklater putting two movies out (the other is Blue Moon, which competed even earlier at the Berlinale), he reminds us what a remarkable filmmaker he remains.
Grade: A-
Trailer:
Eternality Tan 