Review: Nouvelle Vague

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Official synopsis: After writing for Cahiers du cinéma, young Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) decides making films is the best film criticism. He gets Georges de Beauregard Bruno Dreyfürst) to fund a low-budget feature, with FrancoisTruffaut, (Adrien Rouyard) Breathless.

Every now and then I'm encountered with a movie that I really enjoy, but wouldn't exactly recommend it to everyone I see. Nouvelle Vague is such a film. Richard Linklater's latest is an ode to cinema lovers and French New Wave, and it's only fans of those things that I can see truly appreciating this. And yes, that sounds ever bit as pretentious as a film about French New Wave would, but I'm just being honest.

Linklater uses a title cards to call out all the "cameos" of the up and coming French film makers of the time that are sprinkled throughout the film. It's a curious choice that works very well. I couldn't help but smile when I saw "Agnes Varde" pop up on the screen.  The film also has the benefit of not being as messy as Breathless, though you can really see why that was a mess with Godard's methods.

The standouts for me were Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo and Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg. After Kristen Stewart so wonderfully played Seberg before, I was afraid I'd keep comparing her to Zoey, but I never did. She made it her own and she and Dullin were uncanny in their portrayals and it was a joy to watch.

Nouvelle Vague would've been nice to see on the big screen, instead like many others, I watched it on Netflix in my living room. If you're a movie, I think there's plenty you will enjoy about this. Even if you're not as well versed in French New Wave. I certainly am not.

Grade: B 

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 19, 2025 at 4:06 PM

    I am a bit nervous of this. My family has a weird connection to Jean Seberg.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 19, 2025 at 4:46 PM

      Oh really? That's interesting lol

      Delete
    2. SJHoneywellNovember 19, 2025 at 8:37 PM

      My mom knew her. They were in the same pledge class of Kappa Alpha Theta at the University of Iowa. My dad would tell his friends that he was going to marry "that girl" he saw on campus, and got a job as a server at the sorority house. Ten weeks into the semester, Jean got the part in Preminger's Saint Joan and left school, and dad married the woman who sat next to Jean at dinner.

      Delete
    3. Brittani BurnhamNovember 20, 2025 at 3:54 PM

      Oh man that's wild! Love that we got you out of that lol

      Delete
  2. thevoid99November 20, 2025 at 1:25 AM

    I hope to see this before the year ends as I am a fan of Richard Linklater and I love that whole period of the French New Wave. Yet, I feel I've only scratched the surface of that whole period even though I have a box set of Agnes Varda's entire body of work to watch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 20, 2025 at 3:53 PM

      Thats amazing you have her entire box set! I haven't seen nearly enough of her films.

      Delete
  3. ruthNovember 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM

    Breathless is the only Godard movie I've seen so far and I enjoyed it. I'm curious about this one and to see Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg. I've never seen Stewart as Seberg so at least I won't be comparing the two, ahah.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cinema RecallNovember 25, 2025 at 1:38 AM

    I agree that it's made for movie geeks like us. I have seen Stewart as Seberg but agree Zoey Dutch makes it her own. Its cool Linklater casted somewhat unfamiliar faces. At least t the masses

    ReplyDelete

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