French New Wave

Between the years 1958 and 1964, a group of French film-makers created a body of work referred to as French New Wave. These film-makers were François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer, who were once all film critics for a magazine called Cahiers di Cinéma. They were driven by the notion forge a new cinema, and went on to influence how a film could be made.

Jean Luc-Godard

The movies featured unprecedented methods of expression, such as long tracking shots (like the famous traffic jam sequence in Godard's 1967 film Week End). Also, these movies featured existential themes, such as stressing the individual and the acceptance of the absurdity of human existence.

Many of the French New Wave films were produced on tight budgets; often shot in a friend's apartment or yard, using the director's friends as the cast and crew. Directors were also forced to improvise with equipment (for example, using a shopping cart for tracking shots).

In Jean Luc-Godard's À bout de souffle, after being told the film was too long and he must cut it down to one hour and a half, he decided to remove several scenes from the feature using jump cuts, as they were filmed in one long take.

The cinematic stylings of French New Wave brought a fresh look to cinema with improvised dialogue, rapid changes of scene, and shots that go beyond the common 180º axis.

But there is no better way of explaining this than by showing it. Here we have a clip of a scene from Godard's À bout de souffle.

Effects that now seem either trite or commonplace, such as a character stepping out of their role in order to address the audience directly, were radically innovative at the time. David Fincher used this technique in his 1999 film Fight Club. To see it, click here.

Modern examples of films that have been influenced by French New Wave are, among others, Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) and Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994).

Here we can see a direct homage to French New Wave by Quentin Tarantino.

John Travolta (left) and Samuel L. Jackson (right) play two mob hitmen
in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

Two hitmen on the job.

Another clear-cut example, this time with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey kiss in Michel Gondry's highly
French New Wave influenced film Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind (2004).

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg in Godard's masterpiece,
A bout de souffle (1960).

Our own interpretation of a French New Wave picture:

Outdoors and spontaneous, a typical feature of French New Wave pictures.

A very natural looking picture, similar to the
one below:

A real French New Wave picture.

French New Wave has significantly influenced the way cinema has progressed. We owe a lot to these smart and idealistic group of talented film-makers, who have helped shape what a film can accomplish.

 Sources:

French New Wave (Wikipedia)