History and Development of French New Wave

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.

The cover of Cahiers Du Cinema with Alfred Hitchcock on it.
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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).

Pioneer Director in French New Wave.
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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