What It’s About
In 1959, film critic Jean-Luc Godard (Marbeck) follows Cahiers du Cinema comrades Claude Chabrol (Besson) and Francois Truffaut (Rouyard) and directs his first feature film. All three men want to break through existing film conventions and redefine cinema for a new generation. Casting the key roles of his film, which concerns a Bogart-loving gangster who falls for an American ex-pat journalist, he chooses Jean-Paul Belmondo (Dullin) and Jean Seberg (Deutch). Guided by cinematographer Raoul Coutard (Penchinat), Godard hits the streets of Paris, and even without a formal script, proceeds to make magic.
Why We Love It
With considerable humor and affection, director Linklater recreates the then-revolutionary process of making what became the groundbreaking “Breathless”. Godard is determined to create spontaneously, without the straitjacket of a script, and asks his team to follow his lead. Among a superb cast, Marbeck is a dead ringer for Godard, and Deutch is especially winning as the often bewildered Seberg, who’s accustomed to the more rigid, time-tested ways of Hollywood. If you love movies about movies, dive into “Nouvelle Vague”.