shades fills you in

On September 13, 2022, French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard died. The Irish Times says that up to the moment of his death, he was the most influential living filmmaker

What was the French New Wave? The “Nouvelle Vague” was a film movement in Paris during the late “50s and ”60s. It rejected classical filmmaking and favored experimentation, personal expression, and breaking rules

In the early 50s, the core group of New Wave directors got their start as opinionated and rebellious film critics writing for the famous French film Magazine, Cahiers du Cinéma. This included Godard, François Truffaut, and Éric Rohmer, among others

At the 25 year anniversary of the movement (1984), The NYT says the films still had a profound impact on movies around the world

It wasn’t all male directors. Agnes Varda is often called the godmother of the French New Wave, but Roger Ebert said she was “its very soul” in his 2012 review of her 1962 film, “Cléo from 5 to 7”

As part of their film criticism in the 50s, they developed the concept of film director as the “auteur”, the author of the film. Why Bother Blog says this theory treated movies as more than just entertainment -- they were pieces of art in and of themselves

But IndieWire says it’s time we let go of the myth of the French New Wave. The directors were mostly connected by time and spirit, not any underlying theory of movies -- and most of them moved on within a decade

The Guardian agrees. The French New Wave was super cool and stylish. But superficial characters and excessive navel gazing gets old!

Seriously, says Cinema Blend. A bunch of the very serious “French film snobs” are just “feigning highbrow taste for brownie points”. Most of these movies -- not all -- are super long and boring!

Still, the French New Wave had a big impact on the New Hollywood of the 70s. Here’s Martin Scorsese talking about the influence the French New Wave had on his movies

Want a flavor of the French New Wave? Here’s a trailer for François Truffaut’s “400 Blows” from 1959

And check out this trailer for the 4K release of Godard’s “Breathless” from 1960