French New Wave Cinema ~1959 - 1964

Apolitical – reflected new acceptance of leisure and consumption France, late 1950s Apolitical – reflected new acceptance of leisure and consumption Government sponsored first time directors New generation of directors: - estb. romantic image of the young director fighting to make personal films that defy industry - many did become mainstream - yet some popularized a new concept in cinema AND provided innovations in film form and style

Main directors were film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma New Wave Directors Main directors were film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma Studied, critiqued, wrote about film Strong advocates of the Auteur Theory - a film is the personal vision/ creative force of the director Helped each other by financing projects, sharing crew/professionals

Contemporary Critics on French New Wave: Astruc: “a filmmaker should use the camera as personally as a novelist uses a pen” Bazin: “the most distinctive nature of a movie was its form, not its content”

Little-known actors and small crews Characteristics Movement more than a style - as director’s personal vision was valued - but some common characteristics… Shot on location Little-known actors and small crews Usually shot silent and post-dubbed Plots centered around chance events Directors referred to prior film traditions - aware of their debt to film history (ex of this and auteur, *)

Filmmakers' appeal with young audiences Popularity Filmmakers' appeal with young audiences Based in Paris - fashion/cars, all-night parties, bars, jazz clubs… Themes: authority to be distrusted; political commitment is suspect; the femme fatale Open-ended narrative - ending of 400 Blows (freeze­ frame technique a favored device for expressing an unresolved situation)

Jean-Luc Godard Breathless (À bout de souffle) Directors François Truffaut 400 Blows ( Les quatre cents coups) Jean-Luc Godard Breathless (À bout de souffle)

The 400 Blows Meaning: to raise hell, live a wild life, sow one's wild oats Literal translation: to do the four hundred tricks 1959 Bogdanovich Article