New Wave (French film)

New Wave (French film) was a cinematic movement that emerged in France in the late 1950s and transformed global filmmaking through radical stylistic and narrative experimentation. It united critics-turned-directors from the staff of Cahiers du Cinéma and journalists from publications such as Arts and Les Cahiers du cinéma allies, challenging conventions upheld by institutions like the CNC and establishments around the Festival de Cannes. The movement influenced auteurs, producers, festivals, and academies across Europe, North America, and beyond.

Origins and Historical Context

The origins trace to postwar France, where critics at Cahiers du Cinéma—including figures linked to Cahiers such as Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Éric Rohmer, and Jacques Rivette—reacted against the traditions favored by the Comité de libération du cinéma français era studios and the legacy of filmmakers like Marcel Carné, Jean Renoir, and Henri-Georges Clouzot. Influences included film theory from scholars connected to Paris-Sorbonne University and writings found in Revue du Cinéma and Positif (magazine), and cinematic models from Italian Neorealism, German Expressionism, Soviet montage theory, and directors such as Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles. Political and cultural currents—linked to events like the Algerian War and debates in institutions such as Assemblée nationale—shaped financing, censorship, and festival politics around the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival.

Key Filmmakers and Influences

Prominent directors included Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Éric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy, Alain Resnais, and Louis Malle—all of whom had connections to critics or intellectual circles around Cahiers du Cinéma, La Gazette du Cinéma, Les Temps Modernes, and universities like École Normale Supérieure. They drew inspiration from earlier auteurs and institutions such as John Ford, Howard Hawks, Max Ophüls, Ingmar Bergman, Yasujiro Ozu, Satyajit Ray, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and theorists like André Bazin and Roland Barthes. Producers and collaborators included figures from companies like Les Films du Carrosse, Les Films du Losange, Ciné Tamaris, and organizations such as the Société des Réalisateurs de Films. Actors frequently associated with the movement included Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina, Jeanne Moreau, Jean Seberg, and Michel Piccoli.

Aesthetic and Narrative Innovations

Aesthetic innovations emphasized on-location shooting in neighborhoods of Paris, handheld camerawork using equipment from studios like Pathé, improvisatory performances with actors from companies like Théâtre de l'Odéon, jump cuts inspired by montage experiments of Dziga Vertov and Soviet montage, and long takes that referenced masters such as Robert Bresson. Narrative techniques included fragmented chronology resembling approaches in works by Marcel Proust adaptations, self-reflexivity linked to Bazin's theories, intertextual references to novels by Gustave Flaubert and plays by Samuel Beckett, and meta-cinematic strategies recalling Orson Welles's experiments. Soundtracks mixed diegetic and non-diegetic music drawing from composers and performers associated with Georges Delerue, Michel Legrand, Miles Davis, and popular chansons by Serge Gainsbourg. Editing practices, promoted in journals like Cahiers du Cinéma, deliberately broke continuity rules codified in institutions such as IDHEC and institutions tied to classical Hollywood like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Major Films and Critical Reception

Key films that defined the movement received attention at festivals such as Festival de Cannes and critics' polls by Sight & Sound and periodicals like Les Cahiers du Cinéma and Positif (magazine). Notable titles include François Truffaut’s works linked to his early criticism, Jean-Luc Godard’s films that interrogated genre conventions associated with Film noir and Gangster film, Agnès Varda’s contributions bridging documentary traditions from Cinéma Vérité and narrative innovations reminiscent of Annie Hall-era American comedies, Alain Resnais’s experimental films recalling Pierre Boulez-era modernism, and Jacques Demy’s musicals that dialogued with Hollywood studios such as RKO and composers tied to Cannes. Critics from The New York Times, The Observer, and Le Monde debated authorship theories connected to Auteur theory and praised or condemned departures from classical forms. Awards included recognitions at Cannes Film Festival, honors from institutions like the César Awards precursor bodies, and retrospectives at museums such as the Musée du Jeu de Paume.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

The legacy extended into film schools and institutions like La Fémis, international festivals such as Berlin International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, and movements in countries including Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, India, and Brazil. The movement shaped television auteurs, influenced directors associated with New Hollywood and independent cinemas connected to companies like Miramax and StudioCanal, and informed scholarship at universities including Harvard University, Oxford University, and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Its methods reappeared in contemporary auteurs linked to festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and in restorations conducted by archives like the Cinémathèque Française and the British Film Institute. Debates over preservation, pedagogy, and authorship continue in journals like Film Quarterly and museums such as the Museum of Modern Art.

Category:French New Wave