Who knew a film about making Breathless would be more fun than the original Breathless? Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague pays tribute to the French New Wave of the 1950s and 60s, celebrating the movement that reshaped cinema and the artists who drove it. He digs into Jean-Luc Godard as a humorous, ambitious, pretentious, and boldly conceited young filmmaker determined to reinvent how people make, see, and talk about films.
The dialogue is snappy and funny, fully embracing the style of the era while keeping the script light and self-aware. Zoey Deutch shines as Jean Seberg in a film that entertains, spotlights the creative minds behind the making of Breathless, and challenges cinematic norms just as the real New Wave once did.
Rating: ★★★★
Review by: Gal Balaban