Films for Breakfast

I can’t quite say that I’ve ever watched Jean Luc-Goddard’s 1960 classic Breathless and thought to myself “I’d love to see a film about the making of this film” – from what I knew about the production of the film, half of the magic of the film is how in the moment and at a whim it all felt; a true lighting in a bottle, anything can happen production that could have only happened on the streets and surrounding areas of Paris in 1959.

However, Richard Linklater is a filmmaker I will follow to the ends of the Earth. And while I wasn’t necessarily excited to see a play by play of how Breathless was made, I did find the prospects of a Linklater film about the rise of the French New Wave to be a compelling one. And on that note, Novuelle Vague feels like a traditional Linklater hangout film – the only difference is that those hanging out are pioneers of french cinema.

The film follows pretty much exactly what I already described – starting with the birth of the French New Wave, and Jean Luc-Goddard’s turn from journalist to filmmaker in his feature-length debut. We see him assemble his cast, fight with producers, and deal with the day to day chaos on set; all of which is mostly self-inflicted and something he delights in throughout the artisitic process – and even then, some of the crew wouldn’t agree that it is artistic as much as it is inexperience.

On a technical front, I found the way Linklater replicated the black and white, grainy aesthetic of a French new wave film to be really impressive. It feels less like a gimmick and more like an ode to his love for these kinds of films. Another thing I appreciated about his approach to telling the story is that it never really feels like he is trying to tell an objective play by play about the production, as much as it is a playful attempt at reconciling how the flightyness of the production and its cultural signifiance go hand in hand. Is it brilliance? A work of art? Or simply luck? Who’s to say.

Performance wise, everyone is really excellent. I couldn’t go through every single cast member, as there are so many people who play iconic filmmakers. However, as far as the main players go, I was really impressed by Guillaume Marbeck’s portrayal of Jean-Luc Godard, as he really nails both the captivating essence of him as a trail-blazing filmmaker, as well as the arrogance he was known for. I also really loved Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo and Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, who give great performances individually and serve as excellent foils for Godard’s madness.

While it does feel a bit slight at times and hardly sustains itself past 90 minutes, Linklater has enough clear reverence for the French New Wave and Godard as a filmmaker that Nouvelle Vague goes down nice and easy. This isn’t necessarily one of his best works as a filmmaker, but even for a lighter entry in his filmography, it is both breezy and delightful.