Nouvelle Vague (2025) — Linklater's Love Letter to Godard

☆☆☆☆☆

Linklater's newest comedy-drama effort, receiving various accolades since its Cannes premiere last year, follows Jean-Luc Godard's (Guillaume Marbeck) making of his debut feature, Breathless (1960), with his leading man and woman, Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) and Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutsch).

Spoilers ahead.

I suppose it's a little silly, talking about spoilers when it was real life. You know what I mean.

I went to see Nouvelle Vague at Queen's Film Theatre, and it was a treat. I was a little worried going in, on my own issue of refusing to read reviews before I watched it (too many times last year did I do that, only to walk into a dreadful movie. Imagine me coughing and indiscreetly spluttering, "Del Toro's Frankenstein," please), but it's an absolute charmer. Filmed on location, the actors of Godard, Belmondo, and Seberg are perfectly cast. In fact, everyone is, but especially those three, they shine brighter than anyone.

One thing which I found incredibly fun about this movie was something I didn't go into it knowing. Yes, I knew it was a tribute of sorts, based on the making of Breathless, but I didn't consider the extent. To this, I mean a complete homage, It's sharp, it goes by quite quick, it's filmed like it. Real reminiscent of a Godard movie, and as cool as the New Wave can be.

It's polished. I know it is, of course it is. I think the spirit of that sort of filmmaking can't be truly captured, especially not in a restaging 65 years on. But it does a good job at it.

I think this movie is wholly out of a love for Godard and the French New Wave, and pays beautiful, fun respects to it, as well as working as a cinematic version of yelling at people to go watch a 1960 movie were Belmondo smokes a good three packs worth of cigarettes and Seberg is just... cool. If you can't tell, I loved Breathless too. I watched it the morning I went to see this in cinema.