V E N T N O R   F I L M  S O C I E T Y​​

Whether you’re a lifelong cinephile or a newcomer to the avant-garde, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague offers a vibrant, black-and-white window into the spark that ignited modern cinema. Set in the rain-slicked streets of 1959 Paris, the film captures the frantic, rule-breaking production of Breathless, (A Bout de Souffle) the masterpiece that turned the movie world upside down.

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It follows a young, defiant Jean-Luc Godard as he ditches traditional scripts and heavy equipment for handheld cameras and raw improvisation, much to the bewilderment of his star, Jean Seberg. By dramatising the creative friction and guerrilla tactics of the French New Wave’s inner circle, Linklater delivers a stylish tribute to the moment film stopped being a formula and became an obsession.

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It’s been called a "hangout movie": the sort of film where you feel like you’re just grabbing a coffee with the characters while they talk shop and stir up trouble. The vibe is pure "fake it till you make it," following a gaggle of young, film-obsessed rebels as they tear around 1950s Paris, breaking every rule in the book.

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Working on the set is absolute chaos! Godard is portrayed as this brilliant but properly annoying bloke who refuses to use a script, scribbling dialogue onto napkins five minutes before the cameras roll. It’s hilarious watching the American star, Jean Seberg, trying to keep her cool while the crew hide cameras in post trolleys to dodge the police. It’s stylish, fast-paced, and perfectly captures that "punk rock" energy of a group of mates just winging it and accidentally changing the world.

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Interestingly, director Richard Linklater was actually the only American on the entire crew, with every department head being French to ensure the production felt authentic rather than a Hollywood imitation. To capture the "guerrilla" spirit of the 1950s, they even hid cameras inside mail trolleys to film on the busy Champs-Élysées without permits, just as the original filmmakers had done. The dedication to realism went so far that the costume department worked with Chanel to recreate Jean Seberg’s wardrobe from original 1959 invoices, while Zoey Deutch spent two years perfecting the actress's specific accent to ground the film's stylish, black-and-white world.

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​To book, please email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com.

 

The Critics Say...

“Linklater sets the scene and tells the story with so much joy that it will reel you in, whether or not you are familiar with Godard’s work.” Brian Viner, Daily Mail ****

 

“Nouvelle Vague is more than just an in-joke for cineastes -- it’s an invitation to make something alive and radical that pisses off the right people.” Wendy Ide, Observer

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“It’s a film about a film, told mostly in the manner of that film, with the same kind of liveliness. It isn’t necessary to watch Breathless first by the way, although why not?” Deborah Ross, The Spectator *****

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