Before Jean-Luc Godard was a filmmaker, he was a film critic. And before that, he was a film fan.
That fandom is part of the ethos of the French New Wave, the groundbreaking cinematic movement of the 1950s and 60s. Yes, those directors rejected the strictures of traditional filmmaking. Yes, they brought new approaches to writing, shooting, editing, and thematic exploration. But, that crew of artists, many of whom came out of the French film magazine “Cahiers du Cinema” – Godard, François Truffaut, Éric Rohmer, and more – also held a deep appreciation for the studio filmmakers of yore. In their eyes, people like Orson Welles, John Ford, and Nicholas Ray deserved more artistic attention than they got. In short, they were kind of the first film bros – and I say that with all the love in the world.
“Breathless,” Godard’s seminal feature debut and the basis for filmmaker Richard Linklater’s fanboy movie of his own, “Nouvelle Vague,” might be the most French New Wave-y film of them all. It’s improvisational and quick, full of what would become its signature jump cuts that so many would go on to copy. It’s also full of references to American noir films of the 40s and 50s (the main character, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo, has an obsession with Humphrey Bogart).
Read Sammie’s full review on Rough Draft
