French
New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague) is one of the key movements of post-war European
cinema. It started with Breathless in 1959 and ended with Weekend in 1969, both
directed by Jean-Luc Godard. French New Wave went against the traditional ideas
of French cinema. This film movement was spearheaded by a group of authors from
a French film journal, Cahiers du Cinema in 1951. It brought a huge impact to
cinema which changed the long-established notions of filmmaking styles, themes
and narratives (Luzi, n.d.). Today, its influence in cinema can still be seen
in films by contemporary directors such as Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci
and Quentin Tarantino.
In a
French arts television documentary in 1961, the ideals of the French New Wave
are totally explained:
‘Today’s young filmmakers are trying to make a different type of film and
put an end to boring films. They deal with today’s problems, not those of the
past. Their style is fresh and shocking, doing away with the dull and outdated.
But what is all this commotion... What is it all about? The cinema. Who is it
about? About the young cinema’. (Evans,
n.d.) References: Evans, G. C. (n.d.). The French Nouvelle Vague (New Wave). Retrieved April 3, 2013, from Film Education: http://www.filmeducation.org/pdf/resources/secondary/FrenchNouvelleVague.pdf Luzi, E. (n.d.). The French New Wave: A Cinematic Revolution. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from the Black and Blue: http://www.theblackandblue.com/2010/03/29/the-french-new-wave-a-cinematic-revolution/
When France was conquered by the Germans during World War 2, Paris as the capital city of France was a total dead city which curfew was declared by that time (Simon, 2008). Most of the French films produced in the France at that particular period, they were used to spread the Nazi’s ideology and also to propagate. Consequently, there’s population that disagree with Nazi’s and support Nazi’s idea. American films were banned to be shown in France due to that circumstance. A distinctive philosophy “Existentialism” occurred during the post-war years. Existentialism stressed the individual, the experience of free choice, the absence of any rational understanding of the universe (Nottingham, n.d.). People tend to use free will and take responsibility for their actions, hence; Jean-Paul Sartre and other intellectuals influenced much on La Nouvelle Vague.
Before French New Wave started, Andre Bazin and Jacques Donial Valcroze founded Cahiers Du Cinema in 1951.
This is a film magazine which includes theories and criticisms written by Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and etc (Simon, 2008). There are two principles in Cahiers du Cinema including to reject montage aesthetics, favoring mise-en-scene and also personal authorship. They emphasize more in realism which is to include emotional and psychological experiences but not only to insert intellectual or rational experiences into films (Joe, 2013). They believe that shooting in real locations and the usage of unscripted dialogues will enhance the realism of the film. Apart from that, Truffaut and Godard believe that personal authorship has to be included when producing a film. The policy of Authors or the Auteur Theory states that film should be a medium of personal artistic expression, bearing the filmmaker’s signature which includes the personality, controlling obsession and cardinal themes (Joe, 2013). Previously, authorship of a film credits mostly to the screenwriter because filmmakers in France believe that the whole film comes from the imagination of the screenwriter. However, the authorship of a film has changed. They should not limit only to the screenwriter but also the director who visualizes the screenplay. Truffaut and Godard wish to shoot films according to their theories by borrowing money from the others. French New Wave officially started when Godard produced his first film named Breathless.
In 1958, with the constitution of the Fifth Republic, subsidies were brought by the government to support homegrown cinema which resulted in more funding for first time filmmakers. It encouraged distributors to lend its support to new directors. Also, rapid technological advancement during that time allowed filmmaking equipment to be more readily available. (Hitchman, 2008).
The numbers of French New Wave directors increased with times. From 1958 to 1959, there are 24 new directors arrived; In 1960, 43 directors accomplished their debuts. After previous magazine, Revue du Cinema, which also known as Review of the Cinema was shut down, Cahiers du cinema was developed by a few film critics, and the cine-club managed to produce 124 debut films (French New Wave Cinema, 2005).
Bazin, one of the authors of Cahiers du Cinema, be seen as a father figure among young film critics. He was especially close to Francois Truffaut, a critic from the younger generation. In 1953, Truffaut wrote an article entitled “A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema”. In the article, he highlighted the strategy of an auteur, virulently denounced the tradition of filming safe cinema, which were filmed in studios in an old fashioned and uncreative way. Truffaut highlighted that this style of cinema allowed the screenwriter to possess way too much power. Hence, they labelled it 'cinema de papa', and argued that film should be directors' independent creation (Hitchman, 2008).
The new wave group had a great respect for directors like and well known directors during French New Wave. Truffaut was keen in cinema and he started to involve in cinema field since he was 15 years old. Truffaut published more than a hundred articles and film reviews in Cahiers du Cinema. At the age of 27, he directed his first film, The Four Hundred Blows to great success (French New Wave Cinema, 2005).
By the mid-60's Jean-Luc Godard is one of the most discussed directors in the world. His films came in prompt series and brought it a step towards a personal reinvention of cinema. His cinema can clearly established his vision in cinema world. Breathless was one of his most significant movies. Later, Godard made a more colourful political film. Weekend, a film produced by Godard, end with closing title “End of Cinema”, which is a declaration which symbolized an end to the first period in Godard's filmmaking career (Hitchman,2008).
Even if French New Wave has declined through this new era, the ideas of the French New Wave have had a huge impact on the face of modern cinema. References: French New Wave Cinema (2005). Retrieved from http://wenku.baidu.com/view/0b4e86f27c1cfad6195fa7af.html Hitchman, S. (2008). A History of French New Wave Cinema. Cashiers du Cinema. Retrieved from http://www.newwavefilm.com/about/history-of-french-new-wave.shtml Hitchman, S. (2008). A History of French New Wave Cinema. New Developments. Retrieved from http://www.newwavefilm.com/about/history-of-french-new-wave2.shtml Hitchman, S. (2008). A History of French New Wave Cinema. “The Cinema is Truth 24 Times a Second”-
Jean-Luc Godard. Retrieved from http://www.newwavefilm.com/about/history-of-french-new-wave3.shtml Joe, Y. (2013,
March 7). French New Wave. Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Nottingham, S. (n.d.). The French New Wave. Retrieved
April 3, 2013, from
https://soma.sbcc.edu/users/DaVega/FILMST_101/FILMST_101_FILM_MOVEMENTS/FrenchNewWave/french_new_wave_.pdf
Simon, H. (2008). A History of French New Wave Cinema.
Retrieved April 3, 2013, from New Wave Film.com: http://www.newwavefilm.com/about/history-of-french-new-wave.shtml
The films of the French New Wave possessed several
distinct characteristics that defined the movement. These are the techniques
and tropes employed to give the films a recognizably naturalistic style.
Low
Budget
France underwent an economic crisis after World War
II. Therefore, the amount of investment in filmmaking is very low. Due to budgetary
concerns, the directors have borrowed their friends' apartment as a shooting
location and used them as the cast and crew. The apartment where Michel
Poiccard, the protagonist in A Bout de
Souffle (1960), was talking to his girlfriend, Patricia is one of the examples.
Besides that, they do not use established actors in French New Wave films. As
an example, the characters of Michel and Patricia are played by then-unknown
actors, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg to reduce production costs.
The apartment look very narrow and the crew are just few.
Shoot
on Location & Natural Sound French New Wave filmmakers were inspired by Italian Neorealism, thus they prefer to shoot on location as opposed to studio filming. Shooting in natural locations make the French New Waves films look authentic and natural. Natural lighting is also one of its prominent features. It is meant to emphasize the notion of reality. The spare use of lighting equipment is also due to lack of funding. For example, the setting of A Bout de Souffle (1960) takes place in Paris, as we can see views of the streets and landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. Additionally, French New Wave directors recorded the sound during shooting and did not do any alterations to retain the authentic quality of the films. For example, in the airport scene where they interview Mr. Parvulesco, the noises coming from the planes can be heard.
Mr. Parvulesco's interview took place in airport.
Anti-authoritarian
Protagonist
The protagonists in French New Wave films are mostly
marginalized, young anti-heroes who defy the status quo. Usually portrayed as alienated
loners, they live with no family ties, behave spontaneously, and act immorally.
They are often seen as anti-authoritarian. For example, the protagonist Michel
Poiccard, a socially alienated character in A
Bout De Soufflé (1960), is a car thief who killed policemen, stole money
from his girlfriend, and yet shows no sign of remorse. At the beginning of the
film we can see that he is masking his face with a newspaper. This typically
criminal behavior shows that he is a morally ambiguous character who is
distancing himself from society.
In opposition to classical filmmaking, directors of the
French New Wave did not plan well before shooting and the dialogue was often
changed or written the same day it was read. Consequently, the plot might have
change several times. The actor’s performance of speech or dialogue pattern in French
New Wave films is unique because they are encouraged to improvise their
dialogue. Therefore, the dialogue in the film may occasionally seem irrelevant
to the storyline. Here is an example of the hotel scene from A Bout De Soufflé (1960) for improvised
dialogue:
Improvised conversation in the apartment.
Mise-en-shot
While watching French New Wave films, we can recognize
a lot of mise-en-shots in them like the handheld shot, tracking shot, pan shot,
long shot and point-of-view shot. We can identify the handheld shot because some
scenes look very shaky and unstable. The lightweight hand-held cameras
available during the1950s made shooting on location and long tracking shots
easy. Generally, there is only one camera used in these films. In A bout de soufflé (1960), the pan shot is
used while shooting Michel’s movement pan to right to show that he is chasing a
car. Tracking shot is the shooting of the subject’s movement within the frame
using a camera dolly. There are many point of view shots in the film too. For
example, the point of view shot of Michel when he is driving and another scene
of him murdering the policeman.
Long tracking shot is used for this scene.
POV shot of Michel when he is driving.
Editing Unlike other film styles which emphasize more on continuity editing, French New Wave films are more likely to break the rule of continuity and employ a freer form of editing. They are used to inform audiences the fractured nature of their films. Jump cut is an editing technique used to remove the continuity in time and space between shots. It is used almost throughout A bout de soufflé (1960). At the same time, jump shot scenes also emphasize on the discontinuity of the film’s narrative. Below, there is a scene of Michel and Patricia driving around the streets of Paris.
Jump cut editing skill is used to edit this car driving scene on Streets of Paris.
References:
Bordwell & Thompson (2009) ‘The French New wave (1960-1964)’, Film Art: An Introduction, New York, McGraw-Hill: pp.475-477.
M.Marie(1945) ‘A Technical Practice, an Aesthetic’, The French New Wave: An Artistic School, United Kingdom, TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall :pp.70-95
Nelmes, J. (1996). An Introduction to Film Studies. Characteristics of Film New Wave Cinema. (3rded.) Routledge, pp. 436-437.
Jean-Luc Godard (Director) & Georges de Beauregard (Producer). March 16, 1960. A Bout De Soufflé (Breathless). France. UGC.
À Bout de Soufflé (1960) directed by Jean-Luc Godard
"À Bout de Soufflé" aka "Breathless", was the first full-length film directed by the controversial Jean-Luc Godard and also the first film of his long career. “Breathless” A Bout de Souffle is possibly the brightest star to shine from the French New Wave which makes this the landmark film of the French New Wave. Godard went out to create his own film in homage to, and also complete contradiction to classic Hollywood film (Breathless, n.d.). "Breathless" plot is rather simple: Michel Poiccard/Laszlo Kovacs (Jean-Paul Belmondo), our anti-hero, is a young criminal on the run from the police because he stole a car and murdered a police. Besides, he has an affair with a beautiful young American, Patricia (Jean Seberg), an aspiring journalist who sells the New York Herald Tribune in the middle of the Champs Élysées, and is also expecting Michel's baby. Patricia helps Michel to dodge the police, while they steal cars together in order to raise money for a trip to Rome (Breathless, n.d.). The plot reads almost like a crime thriller typical of the 1930-40's; a criminal on the run from the police, the distraction of a beautiful woman, the escape. Yet it remains special in Godard's approach as the film style and the new technologies that he used compared to the typical crime thriller. The narrative methods in Breathless are perhaps the most fascinating part of the film. For the classic Hollywood narrative, the film usually ended with little equilibrium. Yet, the closure part in “Breathless” where protagonist's motives are unclear as he tears off to Paris leaving a woman and a dead cop in his trail. This somehow makes the ending open-ended. With no sense of equilibrium to start with how can there be closure on what has happened throughout the film? This act does surprise our audiences and fulfill the need of French New Wave. After all, I think that “Breathless” -A Bout de Souffle brought a sense of realism that is not seen in the classic Hollywood cinema.
Reference:
Jean-Luc Godard (Director) & Georges de Beauregard (Producer). March 16, 1960. A Bout De Soufflé (Breathless). France. UGC.
Breathless. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2013, from IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053472/
After 1960 with ‘À Bout de Souffle’ or Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard became one of the leading figures of the French New Wave. Weekend (1967) is scathing late-sixties satire from Jean-Luc Godard is one of cinema’s great anarchic works and it most popular act in new wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard's career. “Weekend” (1967), which is the last presented french new wave film that directed by him after the New Yoker Video collapse. Godard declared himself a committed Marxist-Leninist theory and abandoned conventional avenues of capital investment for his films and ‘Weekend’ itself captures precisely the spirit of revolution. (movie-gazette, n.d) The storyline is basically about a pleasant weekend trip to the countryside turns into never-ending nightmare of traffic jams, revolution, cannibalism and murder as French bourgeois society starts to collapse under the weight of its own consumer preoccupations. There are two main actors, Roland (Jean Yanne) and Corrine (Mireille Darc), both of them is a bourgeois couple and travel all the way to French countryside while the civilization crashes and burns around them. The purpose of Roland and Corrine went to French is to visit Corrine’s parent for a weekend. When they arrived, they find out that Corrine’s father has died and her mother refusing them to get any inheritance. Both of them killed Corrine’s mother and set off on the road again. Along the way, they become embroiled in the increasing social unrest being enacted on the roadside. Their car becomes stalled in a massive traffic jam and they are forced to continue on foot. On their journey, they encounter everything from armed revolutionaries to historical characters and a man claiming to be God. Final thoughts, Godard's vision of Hell and it ranks with the greatest. We’re hardly aware of the magnitude of the writer/director’s conception until after we’re caught up in the comedy of horror, which keeps going further and further and becoming more nearly inescapable. (Pauline Kael, n.d)
Reference: Jean-Luc Godard (Director) .December 27, 1967. Week-end (Weekend). France. Athos Film. movie-gazette. (n.d). Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://movie-gazette.com: http://movie-gazette.com/1193/week-end Pauline Kael, T. N. (n.d). 366 weird movie. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from http://366weirdmovies.com: http://366weirdmovies.com/130-weekend-1967/
By introducing a new approach to filmmaking, the French New Wave might well be the most groundbreaking movement of 20th-century cinema. It encouraged future generation of filmmakers to explore the possibilities that they can achieve through the medium of movies. Meanwhile, filmgoers discovered that movies can provide endless insight into humanity and the world. The French New Wave directors challenge the established idea of cinema and brought a shift to the tastes and expectations of audiences. This triggered a renaissance in Hollywood, thus ushering in directors who are eager to make films of poignant subject matters and artistic merit. This illustrates the impact the movement had on the rest of the film industry and the pervasive influence it has on cinema today. The fact that these films are considered the finest examples of filmmaking is a testament to the enduring appeal of the French New Wave.
