What is French New Wave?
Background and Revolutionary
Techniques
The French New Wave changed the ways movies were made
forever and influenced some of the greatest directors of our
time. But what is the French New Wave? How did it begin and
why? This post will provide you with a definition, a brief
historical context, and highlight some key characteristics of the
movement from the earliest pioneers. As we’ll see, the influence
of the French New Wave continues through modern filmmakers
like Tarantino and Scorsese, just to name a few.
Background and style
For one of the most influential movements in cinematic history,
it's not that easy to define! Before we move on to discuss some
of the stylistic contributions that the movement had on
filmmaking, let's begin with a little background.
FRENCH NEW WAVE DEFINITION
What is French New Wave?
The French New Wave was a film movement from the 1950s and
60s and one of the most influential in cinema history. Also
known as “Nouvelle Vague," it gave birth to a new kind of
cinema that was highly self-aware and revolutionary to
mainstream filmmaking. A group of French critics, who wrote for
the journal, Cahiers du Cinema, believed films had lost their
ability to capture true human emotion and "lacked sincerity."
They felt the films were out of step with how people actually
live.
There were quite a few notable French film directors who were
part of the movement, including Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc
Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Louis
Malle, Alain Resnais, Agnes Varda, and Jacques Demy. Their films
were characterized by rejecting film traditions but how did they
do that?
FRENCH NEW WAVE CHARACTERISTICS:
Deemphasized plot & dialogue was often improvised
Jump cuts rather than continuity editing
Location shooting
Handheld cameras
Long takes
Direct sound & available light (live recordings, often didn’t adjust
light)
A brief history of French New Wave
The French New Wave emerged out of a hungry post-war France.
Salivating for culture and left only with mainstream media that
felt trite and contrived, French critics and film lovers began
experimenting with different filmmaking techniques. Their
influences ranged from the Italian Neo-Realism and American
noir from the 40s and 50s.
During WWII, films from outside France stopped being imported
into the country. But after the war, those embargoes were lifted
and these cinephiles and critics were inundated by a flood of
"new" movies. All this work from Hollywood greats like Welles,
Hitchcock, and Ford energized the French critics and the rest is
history.
Revolutionary techniques
For decades, mainstream filmmaking, especially from Hollywood,
set the standards and "rules" on how to make a film. The French
filmmakers understood those rules...and then threw them out
the window. The smaller, lightweight cameras were often
"freed" from the tripod and handheld, giving a new life and
energy to their films.
Non-linear and fragmented editing became another major and
exciting contribution. For decades, each Shot A led logically into
Shot B, leaving no gaps in the information to keep the audience
from being confused. Now, in these French films, logic became a
secondary concern.
The video from The Discarded Image highlights the radical
choices made by French director, Jean-Luc Godard. His film,
Breathless, became one of the preeminent films in the
movement and began one of the most exciting and artistic
careers of any film director.
Tarantino and Scorsese
The influence of the Nouvelle Vague on filmmaking and
filmmakers cannot be understated. Entire generations of
filmmakers have been influenced by these films, including
Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese. Tarantino even named
his production company A Band Apart after Godard's seminal
film Bande a parte (Band of Outsiders).
In this video, Scorsese discusses one of Francois Truffaut's best
films from the era, Jules et Jim, and how the freedom he saw on
screen inspired his own work.
In this clip, Tarantino talks about Jean-Luc Godard and how his
work gave him inspiration. In particular, he discusses how a
review of a Godard film by noted critic Pauline Kael became
more important to him than the film itself.
