Nouvelle Vague (2025)

Film Details

A BFI London Film Festival Screening

Director: Richard Linklater

Run Time: 105 mins

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Guillaume Marbeck, Aubrey Dullin, Paolo Luka Noe, Matthieu Penchinat, Alix Benezech 

Synopsis: Jean-Luc Godard embarks on his first journey as a director, shooting the iconic film Breathless, which was one of the first films of the Nouvelle Vague French new wave cinema in the late 1950’s.

My Review

Richard Linklater’s love letter to the French New wave of cinema is one of the most stylistic films that I have ever seen! The director used black and white 35mm film, creating a living time capsule picture that transports the audience back to the late 1950’s. Many try to capture the essence and visual style of classic cinema, but few rarely master it as well as Linklater here. I went into this film completely naive, I booked it without seeing a synopsis or a trailer and although I was surprised, it was a pleasant one! I don’t pretend to be a film academic, well versed on the French new wave itself and the filmmakers that were integral to the movement. So I relied on the charming nature of these characters, the inherent comedy that comes with someone like Jean-Luc Godard and an appreciation for his loose, naturalistic style and approach to filmmaking that only arose from seeing this iteration of the man, work in this film. 

The first act was arguably the weakest in my opinion, it was rather slow paced, with an abundance of names flying at you with an expectation for you to know who they were… That being said, it was crucial in providing the necessary context for Godard and we were ultimately all the better for it, as it enhanced the comedic nature of his character for the rest of the film. The aforementioned charming nature of Nouvelle Vague is only possible through the wonderful performances from the cast, especially Guillaume Marbeck, who was brilliant. They were all believable, they were real and authentic, it genuinely felt as though we were just a fly on the wall amongst the chaos of Godard’s directorial debut. It’s light, easily digestible and if, like me, you are fairly naive to that era of cinema, it can be a great introductory piece, which is equally informative as it was funny!

My Rating: 7 out of 10

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Film Review Club