Events in York, Visit York, Local News Yorkshire, Things to Do in York – Oneandother.com

Francois Truffant, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette; these are some of the biggest names that might come up in a conversation about French Cinema’s ‘La Nouvelle Vague’, or ‘The New Wave.’ Writers and film critics for Cahiers du Cinema in the 50s and 60s, they are often viewed as the core members of what is widely regarded as the most influential movement in cinema since the first use of celluloid film.

Seen Pulp Fiction? What about Taxi Driver? Wouldn’t have existed without La Nouvelle Vague. The directors of the French New Wave believed unreservedly in the theory of the auteur; the best films are honest, built and created from personal feeling and expression and therefore bearing the unique stamp of that artist. Painters and writers can be identified by their style – why couldn’t filmmakers? This desire to express artistic vision also meant that the New Wave emphasised a film’s status as art over its commercial value.

This marked a huge change in attitude, influencing the rise of independent cinema in the States from the late 1960s, and effecting a change still felt to this day. As Scorsese said himself: “The French New Wave has influenced all filmmakers who have worked since, whether they saw the films or not. It submerged cinema like a tidal wave.”

La Nouvelle Vague filmmakers created a new cinematic style, used creative and innovative techniques (long tracking shots, improvised dialogue, jump cuts; many films made on a shoestring budget) and breathed new life into a style of storytelling that could be remarkably clear, yet complex at the same time, in its explorations of life and emotion.

As a fan of the New Wave, the range and number of films can seem overwhelming at first. There are hundreds of films which can be placed under the Nouvelle Vague banner. For a beginner, however, you really can’t go wrong with the following three ‘must-see’ films:

À bout de soufflé (Breathless) – 1960

Godard’s first feature film, and one of the New Wave’s best. Written by Godard and Truffant, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, it tells the story of young car thief, Michel, who shoots a policeman in Marseille. On the run, he turns to his American girlfriend in Paris, who unwittingly hides him in her apartment. A huge international success, and praised for the film’s creative editing and innovative use of jump cuts.

Les Quatre Cents Coups  (The 400 Blows) – 1959

Truffant’s most successful film revolves around the semi-autobiographical story of 12-year-old Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a young man in 1950s Paris considered a troublemaker by his parents and schoolteachers. Timeless, powerful filmmaking, and the perfect start to the world of Francois Truffant.

Le Boucher (The Butcher) – 1970

A later film in the New Wave, Claude Chabrol’s The Butcher follows Helene (Stéphane Audran); a naive, self-assured teacher who lives and works at a school. She leads a happy life, adored by her pupils. At a wedding one day, she meets local butcher, Popaul (Jean Yanne). The two strike up a close friendship, but Helene soon becomes suspicious of her new friend when a number of local woman are killed by an unknown murderer. Channelling Hitchcock’s mastery of suspense, this thriller is widely considered Chabrol’s greatest work.

These films are a good start, but they only begin to scratch the surface of a deep, rich cultural and cinematic movement. What are your favourite films of La Nouvelle Vague?