The French New Wave, or Nouvelle Vague, emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s. Influenced by the works of Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema, the movement sought to break away from traditional filmmaking conventions. While heavily influenced by their predecessors, directors like Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and Claude Chabrol aimed to create a more personal and author-driven cinema.
Table of Contents
Styles and Techniques
One of the most defining characteristics of the French New Wave was its innovative use of stylistic and narrative techniques. These included on-location shooting, natural lighting, and handheld cameras, which gave their films a sense of immediacy and realism.
The editing was often disjointed or jump cuts, breaking the continuity. The dialogue was naturalistic, and the narratives were non-linear, reflecting the complexity of real life rather than the polished stories of mainstream cinema.
Themes and Narratives
The French New Wave filmmakers were known for their existential and often socially critical narratives. They explored themes of love, freedom, and the human condition, frequently in a disillusioned or cynical tone.
Young characters, alienation, and the struggles of the post-war generation were recurrent themes, reflecting the filmmakers’ own experiences and observations of contemporary society.
Read more about themes in movies.
Three French New Wave Films You Need to Know About
Below, I’ve selected three French New Wave Movies central to the movement and included a short description of why they’re important. These are great places to start if you want to explore the movement.
Breathless (1960)
Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (À bout de souffle) is often hailed as the flagship film of the French New Wave movement.
Its significance lies in its revolutionary approach to filmmaking, particularly its use of jump cuts, natural lighting, and on-location shooting. These techniques broke away from the conventional studio-bound practices, offering a fresh, realistic feel that was groundbreaking at the time.
Godard’s narrative style in Breathless, which flaunts a disregard for traditional plot structure and its themes of existentialism and amorality, encapsulates the spirit of rebellion and innovation that the French New Wave is known for.
The 400 Blows (1959)
François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) is another cornerstone of the French New Wave and marks Truffaut’s debut as a director.
This autobiographical film draws heavily from Truffaut’s troubled childhood and lends an authenticity and emotional depth that resonated with audiences and critics alike. Its exploration of youth rebellion and the failures of the French education and juvenile systems challenged societal norms and expectations.
The use of location shooting, improvised dialogue, and a focus on personal stories rather than grand narratives were innovative at the time and have influenced filmmaking techniques globally.
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour is a pivotal film in the French New Wave movement for its experimental narrative structure and poetic interweaving of personal memory with historical tragedy.
The film’s nonlinear storytelling, innovative use of flashbacks, and blending of documentary footage with fictional narrative were revolutionary. Its exploration of themes such as memory, forgetfulness, and the impossibility of truly understanding historical events through personal experience intellectually challenged audiences.
The film’s stylistic and thematic depth demonstrates the French New Wave’s embrace of complexity and departure from traditional cinema, making it a critical piece of the movement’s legacy.
Further movies and directors to explore
| Filmmaker | Movie | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Chabrol | Le Beau Serge (1958) | Often considered the first French New Wave film, it introduced a new realism and a focus on the complexities of human relationships. |
| Eric Rohmer | Ma nuit chez Maud (1969) | Rohmer’s films are known for their intellectual discourse and moral dilemmas, showcasing a different, more thoughtful side of the New Wave. |
| Jacques Rivette | Paris nous appartient (1961) | Rivette’s work explores the boundaries between fiction and reality, often through a cinematic lens. |
| Jean-Pierre Melville | Le Samouraï (1967) | Though not strictly part of the New Wave, Melville’s minimalist style and existential themes influenced many New Wave directors. |
| Agnes Varda | Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962) | Varda’s work blends documentary realism with lyrical storytelling, offering a female perspective often absent in the movement. |
| Jean Eustache | La Maman et la Putain (1973) | This film’s raw and unfiltered portrayal of youth and sexuality was groundbreaking, reflecting the social upheavals of its time. |
| Chris Marker | La Jetée (1962) | Marker’s short film is an influential work of science fiction that challenges traditional cinematic form through its use of still images. |
| Louis Malle | Les Amants (1958) | Malle’s films often explored taboo subjects, and his work is noted for its narrative experimentation and psychological depth. |
| Jacques Demy | Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964) | Demy’s integration of the musical genre with New Wave aesthetics created a vibrant and colorful cinematic world. |
| François Ozon | Swimming Pool (2003) | Ozon, influenced by the New Wave, is known for his thematic explorations of sexuality and identity, blending genre conventions. |
| Philippe Garrel | Le Révélateur (1968) | Garrel’s experimental and avant-garde approach captures the spirit of the New Wave’s push against cinematic norms. |
| Michelangelo Antonioni | L’Avventura (1960) | Though Italian, Antonioni’s work impacted the French New Wave, emphasizing visual composition and narrative ambiguity. |
Parallels to Cinema Verité
Cinema Verité is a style of documentary filmmaking that emerged in France around the 1960s. Like the French New Wave, it inspired Italian Neorealism. In other words, Cinema Verité and the French New Wave share some philosophical underpinnings and stylistic approaches, such as lightweight equipment and a focus on realism.
However, they are distinct movements with different emphases: the French New Wave is broader, encompassing narrative and stylistic experimentation in feature filmmaking. In contrast, Cinema Verité is a documentary genre emphasizing the filmmaker’s interaction with their subject matter to reveal truth.
Read more about the Cinema Verité movement and notable filmmakers and movies.
Legacy and Influence
The French New Wave impacted both French and international cinema. It introduced new filmmaking techniques and challenged the narrative and thematic conventions of the time.
The movies have been paid homage to and even directly referenced in later movies.
A good example is the movie The Dreamers (2003), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Eva Green, Michael Pitt, and Louis Garrel. In several sequences, the movie pays tribute to Breathless.
Fx in the scene where Isabelle (Eva Green) talks about her first words:
And the recreation of the famous run through the Louvre Museum in Paris:
This recreation resembles Brian De Palma’s tribute to the Odessa stairs sequence from the Soviet Montage movie Battleship Potemkin (1925) in The Untouchables (1987).
Its emphasis on the director as the auteur of a film has also influenced the way films are critiqued and appreciated, making the French New Wave a pivotal moment in film history.
Summing Up
French New Wave revolutionized cinema with bold stylistic choices, innovative techniques, and profound thematic explorations.
Its legacy continues influencing filmmakers and film enthusiasts, making it an enduring and significant chapter in film history.
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