The French New Wave, or La Nouvelle Vague in French, is a cinematic movement that emerged in the late 1950s in the French capital of Paris. The idea behind the movement was to give directors more freedom to express themselves in their films, encouraging them to forego conventional storytelling in favour of more existential, improvised narratives. The French New Wave revolutionised French cinema and the entire film industry, laying the groundwork for today’s auteur-driven films.
For its part, the French New Wave was a reaction against the dominant “Old Hollywood” film style of the time, which prized straightforward stories and was dominated by large studios with editorial sway. This article will describe what the French New Wave is and who were the notable directors of this movement, and their famous films.
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The History of French New Wave
The core years of the French New Wave were 1958–1964; however, individual titles continued to contribute to the genre until about 1973. Tough times inspired this creative expression. After WWII, France was in dire straits economically and reverted to pre-war customs out of desperation. However, they quickly went bankrupt as new artists emerged. Those elegant French films were simply out of their price range. Because of this, they had to develop a novel strategy for filming and editing in a limited time frame and with limited equipment.
The term auteur theory was coined to describe a school of thought in filmmaking that holds that a film’s unique artistic fingerprint can be traced back to its director. The filmmakers and writers of the French New Wave looked up to the likes of Alfred Hitchcock as pioneers of the auteur style.
The critics decided to start making their own films after publishing their ideas. Their rejection of the major studio system meant they had to make do with meager resources, forcing the directors to develop innovative approaches to filmmaking, like using natural light and sound that came to define the French New Wave.
Notable Filmmakers
Jean-Luc Godard
Breathless (1960), Godard’s first feature, and Week End (1967), his last, is roughly the height of his directing career (1967). During this time, he made more conventional films that frequently drew from various points in cinematic history.
Godard’s groundbreaking work during this time period contrasts with his later ideological denunciation of much of cinema’s history as bourgeois and, therefore, without merit. Godard is regarded as a pioneer of the French New Wave and one of the 20th century’s most significant filmmakers.
François Truffaut
François Truffaut’s 1954 essay, Une certaine tendance du cinéma français, is considered the progenitor of the French New Wave because it expressed frustration with the conservative nature of mainstream cinema at the time.
Truffaut’s directorial debut came five years later, with the semi-autobiographical coming-of-age gem The 400 Blows, one of the earliest masterpieces that defined the principles of the French New Wave. In addition to his groundbreaking interviews with Alfred Hitchcock, auteur François Truffaut went on to direct such classics as Day for Night and Jules and Jim.
Jean-Pierre Melville
In his groundbreaking thrillers like Le Doulos, Le Samourai, and Le Cercle Rouge, Jean-Pierre Melville—widely regarded as the “spiritual father” of the French New Wave—brought the American crime film to Paris and gave it a sleek, minimalistic new look. The films Reservoir Dogs and John Wick are just two examples of the many that benefitted from his input.
Bad timing hindered the success of his suspense docudrama Army of Shadows, which is otherwise one of the best WWII films ever made. In telling the story of the French Resistance, the film inevitably elevates Charles de Gaulle, which did not sit well with French critics in the wake of May 68.
Agnès Varda
Varda’s approach to humanist stories dealing with taboo subjects is often compared to a documentary. Cléo from 5 to 7, about a young singer’s 90-minute wait for the results of a medical test, and Kung Fu Master, about a fortysomething single mother’s affair with a fourteen-year-old gamer, are two of her most lauded works.
Notable Films
The 400 Blows (1959)
French New Wave film about the life of 13-year-old Antoine Doinel, released in 1959 under the title The 400 Blows. The film is told from his point of view, and it chronicles his efforts to establish himself in the world.
This film has been hailed as “one of the best of all time” for its powerful depiction of the challenges faced by a young person coping with mental health issues.
Movies like Boyhood, made years after this one, show clear signs of being influenced by it.
Cléo From 5 to 7 (1962)
Cléo de 5 à 7 was Agnès Varda’s magnum opus, released in 1962. The movie depicts a young woman’s internal conflict as she considers whether or not to have an abortion. It’s a landmark in the history of feminism on film and has been hailed as greatness by both critics and moviegoers.
This film focuses on a regular woman’s journey through life, including her reflections on love and death. It doesn’t have much of a plot that can be followed in chronological order and instead centers on Cléo’s emotions at various times of the day.
Pierrot le fou (1965)
Jean-Luc Godard helmed the French film Pierrot le fou. Released in 1965, it is regarded as one of the director’s most groundbreaking films of the 1960s.
Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Marianne (Anna Karina) are the protagonists of this film. They ride south from Paris on a motorcycle.
Jean-Luc Godard’s Pierrot le fou, released in 1965, is a landmark of the French New Wave; it examines the waning of old values and the advent of modern life.
Other notable films from French New Wave:
- Jules et Jim (1962)
- La jetée (1962)
- Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
- Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)
- Paris nous appartient (1961)
The years from roughly the late 1950s to the late 1960s are considered to be peak times for the French New Wave film movement. Despite its initial reception as a rejection of mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, the genre has since gained popularity for its ability to surprise and delight viewers. The French New Wave is easily recognisable by its hallmark of eschewing artificial lighting in favour of shooting on location and using natural light. They were able to capture life as it really is by shooting on location, something that had never been done on such a grand scale in movies before. Actors were free to improvise more since they weren’t limited by scripted dialogue and other elements that are typical of other films.
