Probably there is no more famous and renowned European director than Jean-Luc Godard. Master of cinema, undisputed intellectual, questionable and controversial person, he was one of the protagonists of the nouvelle vague and without him, cinema would probably never have been the same. This is undeniable and we will not be the ones to deny it. Richard Linklater will not deny it either, as he has dedicated an entire film that promises to be one of the films with which Netflix wants to compete in this year’s awards season. What is its name? Nouvelle Vague, of course.
Nouvelle Vague takes place in 1959 and follows the filming of Breathless, one of the first films directed by Godard and one of the first films of the Nouvelle Vague. Shot in black and white, in a 4:3 format and featuring Guillaume Marbeck and Zoey Deutch in the leading roles, the film aims to recreate the aesthetic of the original film as faithfully as possible.
A movie that has been tremendously acclaimed
He must have achieved it because, in fact, the film has had a triumphant run through all kinds of festivals. In April of this year, it was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. At its world premiere on May 17 during the festival, it received an 11-minute standing ovation.
Given the resounding success of this premiere, Netflix decided to acquire the rights to the film. Paying 4 million dollars for the distribution of the film in the US, it is the second highest amount ever paid for the distribution rights of a foreign film. The first was also Netflix and it was also in Cannes for the controversial and highly questionable Emilia Pérez. This led to the film being released on October 8 in French theaters and on October 31 in US theaters, for a limited time, in order to be eligible for awards that require a theatrical release, such as the Oscars.
On the other hand, the film has been a hit among critics. With a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 76 on Metacritic, the film is captivating the audience. At least, part of it. The most constant complaints are that although it is a heartfelt tribute to the cinema of the nouvelle vague, it lacks both the inventiveness and the wit of the films from that era, being nothing more than a pale reflection of it. Opinions are divided here: for some, that is enough to applaud, while for others, it is a reason to demand more.
Given the premiere of the movie on November 14 on Netflix, the decision of which side is right couldn’t be easier. We just have to watch the movie for ourselves and decide if, in this case, Linklater has succeeded or if perhaps Godard would have appreciated a bit more of his tribute.
