Written by Dilan Fernando

Warning: The following review is of a film that is part of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and may contain spoilers for Nouvelle Vague. Reader discretion is advised.

“You talk to the greatest filmmakers ever, Scorsese; ‘I watched these films on TV, on a black-and-white TV growing up.’ That’s where he fell in love with cinema. It wasn’t always in a movie theatre. Quentin in his video store. I had a film study. We all, you know, we all, cinema grabs you wherever it grabs you and you find it where you find it. But, the cinema is the church but you can be worshipful wherever you are.”, says Richard Linklater on the accessibility of films and the passion for cinema; during the press conference for his latest film Nouvelle Vague, after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s this passion and adoration for cinema, particularly the films of the French New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) which were part of the film movement integral to redefining modern cinematic language. Linklater’s film chronicles the burgeoning success of films by Cahiers du Cinema alum, Claude Chabrol and François Truffaut giving way to the ‘Nouvelle Vague’ being cemented in cinema with Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960). Film critics of the Cahiers began to make films after studying and analysing them for years; a line that Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) says in the film emphasizes this ambition and unyielding diligence, “The best way to criticize a film is to make one.” It’s here where Linklater embodies Godard. As Linklater says during the press conference, “I’ve made a lot of films and I’ve always felt, you know, everyone should, if you do it long enough maybe you should make one film about making films.” Linklater isn’t criticizing other films by making his own, instead, he’s defining what he finds so fascinating about them by creating one of reverence.

The film begins inside a cinema (naturally), where Suzanne Schiffman (Jodie-Ruth Forest), Godard (Marbeck), François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) and Claude Chabrol (Antonie Besson) attend the premiere – a catered affair, for a modern French film they all think is stagnant. The sarcastic criticism they share amongst themselves (being the only four left in audience) is them implicitly reciting the creed for the essence of what will come to be the French New Wave. In the lobby after the premiere, Godard speaks with producer Georges de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfürst), who funded the films of Chabrol, Truffaut and many other future New Wave filmmakers, about the possibility of making his own film. Beauregard agrees, having seen Godard’s short films, and insists that it must be a full-length feature.

Godard, jealous about the success of his colleagues, continues to fixate on his vision of making an artistically successful first feature film. There’s a short scene that may be one of the most unsung highlights of the film. Godard vents to Jacques Rivette (Jonas Marmy) and Eric Rohmer (Côme Thieulin) in the Cahiers du Cinema office, who are busy clacking away at typewriters, on how they should all be in Cannes for the premiere of Truffaut’s feature debut, The 400 Blows (1959). Rohmer and Rivette look at each other and continue working. “So go, but leave us alone.”, says Rivette dryly. A close-up on Godard’s hand shows it gingerly opening a drawer and taking 4000 francs from a cigar box (another reference to Bresson), before getting up and leaving. The next scene is Godard driving in his convertible to Cannes, which mirrors a shot of the Michel Poiccard character in Breathless, after killing a highway patrolman. These scenes show that Breathless and everything in it, is not only about Godard making his first feature film but his evolution from critic to filmmaker, the same way Michel goes from being a thief to a killer.

The film shows the painstaking efforts it takes to make a film against all odds; a low-budget, limited resources, inexperience and one’s own artistic integrity. Godard’s small cast-crew consists of Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch), Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin), first assistant director Pierre Rissient (Benjamin Clery) and cinematographer Raoul Coutard (Matthieu Penchinat), all integral to keeping Godard’s production afloat. There are so many characters in the film, which helps immerse the audience into the French film scene of 1959. To list all of them would be a review in itself, but Linklater is sure to include everyone who was anyone that contributed something to the New Wave. The introduction of each character shows a name title, giving the film an encyclopedic element.

Linklater mentions the goal of the film was, “To make the audience feel like they were hanging out with the Nouvelle Vague in 1959. Not just the making of Breathless, but the entire New Wave, the Cahiers du Cinema crowd.” Each of the French actors in the film are newcomers (a Bressonian approach). The casting of the characters in this film is so precise, that the film could pass for a documentary. Linklater being one of the heavyweights of the hangout movie, shows he’s the only one who could’ve made this film. What else would’ve been as interesting a way inside the film? Making it a biopic in the Hollywood fashion would’ve made the film formulaic, limiting creative expression and possibilities; all things Godard despises in filmmaking.

There are a few great filmmakers Godard consults before making his film; Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Pierre Melville and Robert Bresson all hand down great wisdom and teach Godard elements of filmmaking that will be useful throughout his entire career. Once Breathless’ production begins, Linklater’s matching of its filmmaking style for Nouvelle Vague is apparent. The energy, enthusiasm, admiration for the characters and the influences on the source material are present in both productions – Breathless and Nouvelle Vague, creating the sensation of watching two great works of art being produced simultaneously. Think Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1956 film, The Mystery of Picasso. The pacing of Nouvelle Vague zooms by, presenting a series of vignettes, each representing a day over the course of the 20-day film shoot for Breathless.

Godard separately meeting with Seberg and Belmondo, offering them roles in the film. Seberg and Belmondo who meet each other and begin developing a real chemistry on and off-screen. Godard’s temperament for artistic expression which causes the production to halt. Finally, the moments of poetry present in the making of the iconic scenes that have come to define Breathless as one of the most influential films in cinema. Linklater and cinematographer David Chambille worked very hard on the film’s cinematography, choosing to shoot on black-and-white 35mm film stock to emulate the feel of films that would be part of the New Wave catalogue. “There’s not a shot in this movie that wouldn’t fit in ‘59, to ‘62 or ‘63.”, says Linklater.

There are many filmmakers who have made a film that is their love letter to cinema. Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011), Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Damien Chazelle’s Babylon (2022) and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (2022). Some of the films shine and some don’t. The watermark of each being the unwavering passion the filmmaker has for whichever time in cinema they are depicting. Linklater shows that with love, excitement and inspiration one can truly make something of value. Every speckle, flicker, spot of dust and cigarette burn enhances the film. Whether these characteristics are noticeable or not, their presence is felt. It’s details like this, from a team of individuals who share a great affection for art that give Nouvelle Vague its electricity, making it such an entertaining delight to behold.

Dilan Fernando graduated with a degree in Communications from Brock University. ”Written sentiments are more poetic than spoken word. Film will always preserve more than digital could ever. Only after a great film experience can one begin to see all that life has to offer.“