The French NOUVELLE VAGUE

[James Logan]

Here's my little thread: living in France and being a huge fan of Truffaut's, I've become a huge follower of the "Nouvelle Vague" of French cinema. I think it'd be interesting to start a discussion about it, because it's truly there that were born some of the greatest filmmaking ideas of the past decades...

...but first things first: any of you Schmoes heard of it? Like it? Let's start there and get a discussion going.

[Paterfamilias]

i have not heard of it. Can you recommend a title or two to check out?

[Slim]

Yes, what Pater said. I am also unfamiliar with Truffaut's films. Hee. I think that's the point of this forum. To introduce more schmoes to good foreign cinema. :)

[RicochetShaw]

Originally posted by Paterfamilias
i have not heard of it. Can you recommend a title or two to check out?


Can't go wrong with THE 400 BLOWs, it's one of my favorites... and is on my top 10.

[dpf3737]

Out of the French New Wave, I have only seen two: Truffaut's The 400 Blows, and Godard's Breathless. both are great.

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The final shot in 400 Blows where Jean-Pierre Leaud looks directly in the camera and the guitar is playing that sad tune is one of the best endings I've ever seen.



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I have been debating on whether to buy the antoine doinel box set from Criterion. I never seen the other films in the series. Are they worth buying as well?

[Annie Hall]

I've seen two movies of this era, Jules et Jim and Breathless.

While I truly enjoyed Jules et Jim (apart from a few issues I have with the style, which is all apart of the package I suppose), Breathless REALLY did not do it for me. It felt meandering, pointless, uninterested with itself. While these all may be purposeful, they don't make for an interesting/entertaining or even a movie I can really appreciate all-that-much.

I've got quite a few Truffaut movies on my netflix queue that I am looking forward to seeing.

[James Logan]

JULES ET JIM and THE 400 BLOWS (original title: LES 400 COUPS) are must-sees. As for BREATHLESS...it's Godard, meaning it's very special filmmaking. You like it or you don't. Personally, I think it's overrated.

Directors from the Nouvelle Vague were the first ones in France to shoot their stuff in the streets of Paris, not in studios. Gave their movies a lot of energy and realism...just a little tidbit of info on them. :)

But Pater, Slim...gotta check out the 400 BLOWS. Just gotta. :)

[Lynn Minmei]

Jean-Luc Godard is the man. I recommend any of his movies, particularly Band of Outsiders or Breathless.

[Damned Martian]

I've heard a lot about La Nouvelle Vague to critics and all that stuff, but i haven't seen anything. And I don't know if i'd be able to see something. In TV no way, they only put bad action films and new releases. Renting? No video store has anything of that era. Downloading in emule? I hardly get to download all the movies i've already seen and liked to have my collection (I'm poor, i can't buy them in DVD, so don't bash me)... Maybe Murcia's Public Library has something... I'll have to check it.

Till then, can you explain us exactly what differences the New Wave from the rest of the movies? The explanation provided is a bit simple, i think. Can't be just "shoot their stuff in the streets of Paris", i think.


PS: I heard that Tarantino's Pulp Fiction debts a lot to Truffaut and Nouvelle Vague. Is it true? In which sense?

[bob]

James is right, Nouvelle vague rules!

I'd recommend checking out all of Truffaut's films, but if you're strapped for cash or time or whatever:

The 400 Blows
The rest of the Antoine Doinel films
Day for Night
Jules and Jim

I'm not the biggest Godard fan, but Breathless and Contempt are worth checking out. I'd rent Day for Night and Contempt together, it's a nice vis-a-vis of the two auteur's styles.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by damned martian


Till then, can you explain us exactly what differences the New Wave from the rest of the movies? The explanation provided is a bit simple, i think. Can't be just "shoot their stuff in the streets of Paris", i think.


PS: I heard that Tarantino's Pulp Fiction debts a lot to Truffaut and Nouvelle Vague. Is it true? In which sense?

Nope, indeed, that's not the definition of the New Wave. :) Just a little trivia. Here's a closer definition:

a) Filmmakers from the Nouvelle Vague insisted on the notion of "authorship" (if that's even a word). They considered themselves authors, and their films an oeuvre. That's one of the reasons French cinema today is mainly ruled by writers and directors, not producers.
b) Emphasis was put on the use of music and of a new feeling soundtrack for the time. People like Michel Legrand and Maurice Jarre were discovered with the New Wave.
c) The New Wave was born in the 60s with the moral and cultural revolution that swept Europe in general and France in particular. It was meant to be "modern cinema", as compared to the classic, traditional cinema done then.
d) Main directors of the courant: François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Jacques Demy, Claude Chabrol...
e) The New Ave came with a bunch of actors that no one knew at the time but who won their fame with those directors: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Brigitte Bardot, Anna Karina, Jeanne Moreau...Interestingly one French actor of that period and who is still renowed today (was to star in Terry Gilliam's failled DON QUIXOTE movie) is Jean Rochefort -- renowned because he actually didn't participate in the New Wave but still managed to become an icon of French cinema.

Basically, the New Wave was a movement of filmmaking, a French one, that took place in the late 1960s and changed the whole way of seeing film and cinema in France and Europe. Filmmakers like Scorsese, Spielberg and as you said Tarantino were inspired by it.

As for the specifics of the New Wave and PULP FICTION...I don't know details, actually. But to speak broadly, Tarantino has a wa of doing "modern" cinema, of giving a large part to play to the soundtrack, and to film in a way that has continuity with earlier cinema but also bends and sometimes breaks the rules to surprise the audience.

Best I can do. Hope it helps.

[jlovborg]

Originally posted by damned martian
Till then, can you explain us exactly what differences the New Wave from the rest of the movies? The explanation provided is a bit simple, i think. Can't be just "shoot their stuff in the streets of Paris", i think.

In addition to James's good thoughts, here are some of mine:

The "shooting their stuff in the streets of Paris" thing and the simultaneous introduction of lighter and cheaper filming equipment are rather important aspects of the New Wave, because they enabled these directors to have a full artistic control over their movies, without any studio executives meddling in. This resulted in very personal and idiosyncratic movies.

The New Wave is considered to have started in the late 1950s with such movies as The 400 Blows and Breathless. Many New Wave filmmakers were young critics-turned-directors, and had an extensive knowledge of film history, which shows in e.g. the frequent use of homages to classic movies in their films, and their eagerness to rework and parody conventional ways of storytelling. Later on, other movies, even mainstream ones, have adopted many of these once-revolutionary ideas.

The New Wave flourished in the late 50s and the 60s, and there were dozens of filmmakers working within the loose movement. Here are some thoughts of the best-known ones of them:

Jean-Luc Godard: He is probably the most fiercely intellectual filmmaker ever, and definitely a towering figure in the history of film art. With every new movie he has made, he's tried to create new ways of telling stories and expressing ideas, and new film techniques (such as "jump cuts"). He's also very political, and he's made some of the most incomprehesible films ever. Personally I haven't liked his films that much, but then again, his filmography is huge, and I've seen only half a dozen of his films. Breathless, Contempt, Band of Outsiders, Alphaville, and Weekend are probably his most appreciated works. As for Tarantino, he lists Band of Outsiders as one of his favorites (unfortunately I haven't seen it). He even named his production company "A Band Apart" after the film's original French name (Bande à part), and the dancing scene in Pulp Fiction is reportedly a homage to a scene in this Godard film. Although I may have made Godard's films sound like very serious and high-brow, some of them in fact have same kind of "coolness" and humour as Tarantino's films.

François Truffaut: If Godard is the most difficult of New Wave directors, Truffaut is the most easily approachable and popular of them. Basicly he made mainstream genre films which sometimes have experimental elements. Some well-loved films from him: The 400 Blows, Stolen Kisses, Shoot the Pianist, Jules et Jim and Day for Night.

Eric Rohmer: He's made the most talkative films in history. Basicly his films have everyday French characters, often intellectuals, carrying on with their daily lives, and discussing all kinds of topics. Sounds pretty boring, and many people hate his films; it's said that if you see one Rohmer film and hate it, you'll hate the rest of them, too. I've seen a few of his films, and I love them. Best-known films: My Night at Maud's, Claire's Knee, The Green Ray.

Alain Resnais: He's a very fascinating director. He's made visually stylish films that often deal with time, memories, and dreams. He often experiments with fragmentary and non-linear narratives. He has a very distinctive style, and certainly is one of the most obvious and influential "art" directors out there. Hiroshima, mon amour and Last Year in Marienbad are his most famous films.

Jacques Demy: He's one of the most popular of the bunch. He made colourful musicals such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Young Girls of Rochefort.

Claude Chabrol: He's made lots of suspense films à la Hitchcock, with an emphasis on social issues. Some well-known works: The Cousins, The Good Girls, The Unfaithful Wife (this was remade in Hollywood last year as Unfaithful), The Ceremony.

And there's a lot more, but I don't feel up to writing more now. I'm no expert on the subject, and I've still got lots of major New Wave films to see, but I hope that these ramblings inspire someone to see these films. Many of these films aren't at all so serious and high-brow as they are often made out to be, but instead very funny and lovable.

[boo]

Originally posted by James Logan
[B]a) Filmmakers from the Nouvelle Vague insisted on the notion of "authorship" (if that's even a word).

Yes its a word but i think the correct word to use in this case is Auteurism. But i'm not entirely sure myself. Anyway good topic and great read. We were told that we'd be studying the Nouvelle Vague in film class next year so i have been reading up on it to prepare for that and I also tried to get a hold of as many films from this era as i can but so far i've only been able to see Breathless 9/10 and Jules at Jim 8/10.

[Damned Martian]

Thanks for the info, boyz! I'll try to check some of this films!

Originally posted by jlovborg
Claude Chabrol: The Unfaithful Wife (this was remade in Hollywood last year as Unfaithful), The Ceremony.
I've seen The Ceremony, and didn't like it. It was merely ok (5/10), nowhere near as masterpiece as spanish critics said, IMO.

That Unfaithful movie has Emmanuelle Beart as the main character? I saw another film of Chabrol about jealousy, which was more interesting, and don't know what's the title...

[jlovborg]

Originally posted by damned martian
Thanks for the info, boyz! I'll try to check some of this films!

I've seen The Ceremony, and didn't like it. It was merely ok (5/10), nowhere near as masterpiece as spanish critics said, IMO.

That Unfaithful movie has Emmanuelle Beart as the main character? I saw another film of Chabrol about jealousy, which was more interesting, and don't know what's the title...

I didn't like The Ceremony, either, though critics praised it everywhere. Crabrol's The Unfaithful Wife was made in the late 1960s, so no Beart there. The film you're thinking of might be Au coeur du mensonge which stars Sandrine Bonnaire.

A great movie with Beart I'd recommend -- and which is BTW by a New Wave director called Claude Sautet -- is The Heart in Winter.

[Damned Martian]

Originally posted by jlovborg
The film you're thinking of might be Au coeur du mensonge which stars Sandrine Bonnaire.. [/B] Nop. After a search, I found it's this movie: L'Enfer (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0109731)

Pretty interesting, with a twisted ending that reminded me somehow Lynch...

And I know how to difference between Sandrine and Emmanuelle.;)

[RicochetShaw]

I just watched Jules et Jim today, terrific stuff. And wow, what a great ending.

[Ren Hoek]

I love some Nouvelle Vague/Cinema Verité films such as JULES ET JIM, BREATHLESS, THE 400 BLOWS etc.

However, even more intriguing than most films is the whole concept behind it and its history. It's somehow ironic that the whole movement started off as the Cahiers critics' desperate try to capture the spirit of Hollywood post-war cinema. Then their films quickly surpassed most American films in terms of quality, but their glory came to an abrupt end when Hollywood directors started imitating Truffaut and Co.'s style and the overseas audiences lost their interest in French movies. I think that most of the Nouvelle Vague film-makers' influence from that era can be found in Friedkin's and Scorsese's early work.

[Ren Hoek]

:)

I'll post the original poster artwork for Jules et Jim, just because I love this film so much...

http://www.moviemeter.nl/covers/img04846.jpg

Damnit, Catherine looks so adorable yet she's such a bitch! :p

[Paterfamilias]

Originally posted by James Logan

But Pater, Slim...gotta check out the 400 BLOWS. Just gotta. :)


Thank you for the recommendation!! I watched 400 Blows this weekend. It was great. I love how the movie takes it's time developing. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but so many movies are in such a hurry, and this one isn't. I also love the ending.

[Hannibal21]

My 'to see list' has just became bigger, thanks for some of the great suggestions. BREATHLESS is one I want to see the most, god I've been meaning to get that for so long.....

THE 400 BLOWS and JULES ET JIM are definitely among Truffaut's best films, with 400 BLOWS slightly ahead, and JULES ET JIM was one of the most heartbreaking yet moving movies ever, just totally unforgettable. I'm planning on renting it again tonight. Same goes for THE 400 BLOWS, the ending shot of that movie was just powerful, and so sad I just had to shed tears. But THE WILD CHILD and SMALL CHANGE also left me huge impressions, I did once again watch SMALL CHANGE today, I haven't seen it for quite a while but to this day it's still a heartwarming little film that showcases the joys of childhood. I love it.