Nouvelle Vague- 61st Chicago International Film Festival
October 31st, 2025
MOVIE: NOUVELLE VAGUE
STARRING: GUILLAUME MARBECK, ZOEY DEUTCH, AUBRY DULLIN, ADRIEN ROUYARD
DIRECTED BY: RICHARD LINKLATER
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 4 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 106 MINUTES
The thought running through my mind while watching Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague was, “Would Jean-Luc Godard hate this movie?” There’s no real need for an answer—after all, knowing what we do about Godard, the response lies in the eye of the beholder. The legendary director of Breathless was always a believer in cinema’s freedom. What Nouvelle Vague accomplishes so expertly is not just retelling the story behind Breathless, but capturing what it truly meant to be an artist in 1960s Paris. The film portrays both the power of collaboration and the singularity of a cinematic voice. It evokes a time defined by freedom of expression, freedom of love, and the pursuit of great art—where money was merely an obstacle. It’s that undeniable spirit that makes Nouvelle Vague one of the best films of 2025.
We first meet Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) at a party with fellow filmmakers François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard), Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson), and Suzanne Schiffman (Joe Ruth-Forest). The group debates Claude’s newest film, the culture of French cinema, and Jean-Luc’s lofty ambitions for his own debut. Cut to the Cannes Film Festival: Godard, in his cool, collected manner, persuades producer Georges de Beauregard (Bruno Deyfürst) to back what would become Breathless. What begins as a hopeful moment for a first-time filmmaker soon unfolds into a wildly unpredictable and inspiring production.
The first act establishes Godard’s arrogance and eccentricities; the second comes alive with the arrival of Jean Seberg—played spectacularly by Zoey Deutch—who flutters onto the screen like a beautiful butterfly, immediately stealing the spotlight from Godard’s brooding intensity. Watching the two collaborate and clash is fascinating: Seberg resists Godard’s erratic sensibilities, while the young Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) finds himself caught between their creative stubbornness. These scenes offer a window into the filmmaking process, revealing both Godard’s chaotic genius and Seberg’s effortless elegance—something no director could manufacture.
From a narrative standpoint, Linklater makes it clear that Nouvelle Vague is a film about collaboration. The screenplay by Holly Gent, Laetitia Masson, and Vincent Palmo Jr. introduces each character with the precision of a documentary, reminding us of the “village” required to make art. Shot in gorgeous black and white, the film feels like a portal to the past—less a remake of Breathless and more a behind-the-scenes love letter to the bohemian spirit that defined the French New Wave.
It’s impossible not to feel romantic about Nouvelle Vague—romantic for Paris, for a time when the artist mattered more than the money, and for the craft of filmmaking itself. Deutch is stellar, embodying Seberg with a delicate, luminous touch. Linklater, meanwhile, has crafted a film that celebrates an era, an art form, and the collective of artists who changed cinema forever. For cinephiles, Nouvelle Vague is pure nostalgia and reverence for film as art, and an inspiring tribute to the enduring legacy of the French New Wave.
4 STARS
NOUVELLE VAGUE IS PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS AND ON NETFLIX FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
