Nouvelle Vague

TIFF REVIEW: BY DARREN ZAKUS

November 2, 2025

4 OUT OF 5 STARS

Nouvelle Vague is an infectious and classic Richard Linklater hangout movie disguised as an homage to French New Wave cinema and Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless featuring two brilliant performances from Guillaume Marbeck and Zoey Deutch, that thanks to Linklater’s charm and wit as a storyteller, conjures up a whimsical crowd pleasing experience that is impossible not to fall in love with.

It’s always a good year when we see a new film from writer and director Richard Linklater (and even better when he releases two in a mere matter of weeks), who has proven himself a master storyteller no matter the genre. From the acclaimed romantic drama Before trilogy, the stoner comedies of Dazed and Confused and Everybody Wants Some!!, the 2000s comedy cult classic School of Rock, to the fiery screwball romantic comedy Hit Man, Linklater’s ability to shift genre and deliver consistently excellent storytelling is unmatched by the majority of directors working today. With this limitless talent, it only makes sense that Linklater should be the American filmmaker to tackle French New Wave cinema and direct the biographical drama of the creation of one of the most revered films in cinematic history: Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless. Capturing not only the chaotic production of Godard’s film, but the life, spontaneity and creative wisdom of the talents involved, Linklater turns his ode to Breathless and French New Wave Cinema into a joyous celebration of filmmaking with his signature hangout structuring, making Nouvelle Vague an absolute delight!

Not only does shooting Nouvelle Vague callback to Breathless, it gives a historic feeling to the film that matches the significance of Godard’s film. David Chambille’s cinematography is crisp and striking with a healthy amount of grain to make it feel like the film you are watching was shot in the 1960s alongside Godard and his film crew while making Breathless. Paris as a filming location comes to life on screen, becoming a character unto itself in the film, while the 1960s period costume design and set decoration allows Linklater to catch the lively hustle, bustle and creativity of the Paris that Godard and Seberg lived in. Matching Linklater’s playful tone is the film’s soundtrack selections, with its mixture of jazz compositions and popular music from the time era. Every song choice helps to give the film its energetic pep that pairs perfectly with the youthful dynamism of Godard, Jean Seberg, and Jean-Paul Belmondo, helping to create the infectious and joyous tone of Nouvelle Vague throughout the entire production.

The French New Wave cinema movement (or in France, Nouvelle Vague) was an era of artistic experimentalism in filmmaking that rejected traditional filmmaking practices and saw the development of new approaches to storytelling, editing, and visual style. And this spirit of filmmaking is prevalent throughout the film’s screenplay as Godard strives to make his mark on cinema with his directorial feature debut, doing exactly what he wants despite what every collaborator, producer and friend tells him he should be doing. It's the classic struggle of artistic expression versus commercial viability of the studio system at the heart of Godard’s personal arc, with Godard as a first time filmmaker trying to make his life worthwhile as he feels his years slipping by him, despite only being 30 at the time. What develops is this slice of life film on the set of Breathless as it weaves its way through the streets of Paris, with Godard finding sparks of inspiration and reacting to changing production conditions, shooting his film the way he wants with the most bizarre directorial decisions and sporadic shooting schedule imaginable.

Within this story, the ideas of artistic expression, the lasting legacy of art, and the defiance of filmmaking traditions ring loud and clear as Godard unknowingly creates his revered work of art. There is no shortage of notable figures of the French New Wave movement making their appearance in the film, each figure noted by subtitled names as they cross paths with Godard during his creative process, giving cinephiles lots of familiar faces to gush about, but Linklater brings his signature storytelling style to the film. Transforming this biographical drama about the making of Breathless and the French New Wave cinema movement, Linklater retells the production of Breathless as the ultimate hangout film as Godard, Seberg, and Belmondo bask in their artistic endeavours, embrace life and make their little film, unaware that they are creating a landmark entry in cinematic history. As much as the story is Godard through and through, Linklater’s storytelling style is ever present and creates a truly crowd-pleasing piece of cinema, that dare I say, one that is going to speak to all audiences despite the niche appeal of Breathless.

It’s hard to imagine that Guillame Marbeck is a relative newcomer to acting, because he is stellar as Godard. Embodying the defiant cinematic genius of Godard, discovering the film he is making along the way as he finds moments of inspiration on set and with this actors, Marbeck mixes the cynical nature of Godard with infectious moments of inspiration as he stages a scene and evokes performances from his actors to bring to life this iconic filmmaker with great apparent ease. Zoey Deutch is nothing short of terrific as Seberg, capturing the artistic spirit feeling constrained by Godard’s erratic style of direction, not realizing that her performance in this film is destined to be one of her most iconic. With an Ohio-accented French that while jarring to the ear, is pitch perfect Seberg in a true portrayal (and by no means a bad impersonation), Deutch dazzles on camera with a sincerity and sprightly presence that is the perfect contrast to Godard’s cynicism and erratic nature of Godard in what is one her best performances to date. The rest of the cast is excellent as they support Marbeck and Deutch who lead the film, finding a magic as ensemble as they create ease amongst them that not only fulfills Linklater’s direction of the film as a hangout feature, but immerses the audience in the production of Breathless, turning what could have been a stuffy biopic into a vibrant celebration of youth, art and cinema.

To retell the production of one of cinema’s most influential films of the French New Wave era, you require one of the most versatile and talented directors working today, making Richard Linklater and Nouvelle Vague a match made in cinematic heaven. Instantly transporting viewers back to 1960s and the era of French New Wave cinema with its costuming, cinematography and set decoration, Richard Linklater captures the timeless struggle between artistic expression and the financial confines of filmmaking while paying homage to Jean Luc Godard and Breathless, creating a film that is blissfully entertaining. Whimsical, joyous and comforting as it explores the creation of one of cinema’s landmark pieces of art, Richard Linklater not only embraces the themes of French New Wave cinema and Jean Luc Godard’s production of Breathless, but with the ever magnificent lead performances of Guillaume Marbeck and Zoey Deutch, creates an everlasting tribute to storytelling, artistic expression and filmmaking infused with his signature hangout film, ensuring that Nouvelle Vague is an infectious and crowd-pleasing experience from start to finish!