Ride The French New Wave

Young film-makers in many countries tried their hand in creating their own “new waves” in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Britain’s working-class cinema of the “angry young men” that basically was about the displeasure towards status-quo. It turns out the new wave movement in France turned out to have the most impact in terms of influence. A core group of directors who were once all film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma namely François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer together with other French directors including Agnés Varda and Louis Malle, became associated with the French New Wave movement. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” (Mead, 1982)

In the 1950s when film subsidies were bought in by the Gaullist government, this group of directors put their theories into practice. They initially collaborated and assisted each other driving the development of a common and prominent use of form, style and narrative making a clear signature of their work thus making it instantly recognizable.

France was an occupied country in contrary to England or the United States and the experience of austerity and internal tensions due to two different parties; part of the population sided with the Nazis and part of it resisted – left a mark on the countries conscious and mentality. The philosophy that evolved distinctively in France in the post war years was existentialism. “They wanted to make films in which social and political issues could be explored – films that felt ‘raw’ and new. Taking matters into their own hands (and a dash of inspiration from the Italian Neo-Realist movement), Truffaut, Godard and several others set about changing cinema forever. The New Wave was born.” (Evans, 2009)

In conjunction to our film tribute, we integrated these following elements to portray our understanding towards French New Wave. Our story is basically about a queer male who subjugates himself to live in the perception of the society of a male character up to one point where he faced rejection in career just because of who he is. He then decides to live authentically and be true to his inner self. The characters in these films are often disregarded by society, young anti-heroes and loners with absolutely no family ties. In terms of behavior they are often spontaneous, immoral and deemed commonly as anti-authoritarian. In Godard’s first feature-length film A Bout de Souffle (1959) the protagonist murdered a policeman after stealing a car yet he shows no remorse towards his actions. Our protagonist, the queer male is seen acting spontaneously in terms of how he left the office in a fury of rage followed by his sudden and extreme change of self-presentation. He is also immoral (in society’s eye) as he divulge himself in homosexuality. Most of all he carries no remorse in his actions such as stomping out on the person who rejected him AND also the person who accepted him.

Figure 1. Michel Poiccard committing murder A Bout de Souffle

Taking advantage of the new technology that was available in the late 1950s that enabled the French New Wave directors to work off set they use lightweight hand-held cameras that was initially developed by the Éclair Company for use in documentaries and faster film stocks that requires less light and light-weight sound including lighting equipment. Subsequently one of the key element of a French New Wave film consist of raw sound and lighting to allow the films to be shot quickly and cheaply with such portable and flexible equipment, giving the directors more artistic freedom over their work. A natural and casual look is painted on the film due to location filming. Available lights and sounds are preferred in contrary to studio lighting and extensive dubbing. Camera was very mobile with a great deal of panning and tracking resulting in some shaky shots and only one camera was used in new inventive ways. In A Bout de Souffle (1959), Raoul Coutard the cinematographer, was pushed around in a wheelchair so he could follow the characters as they walk down the street and entered buildings. So in our video it is observable that we used natural light that was available on the spot and we also utilize the raw recorded sound without editing it. There were also scene in which we panned the camera for example the robber stalking his victim.

Figure 2. A cafe scene in A Bout de Souffle

The fact that French New Wave films had a free editing style instead of following editing rules of Hollywood films draws attention to itself. By being discontinuous, reminding the audience that they were watching a film, for example the usage of jump cuts or insertion of materials that are considered extra to the story. One of the director that favored the use of jump cut was Godard. “Two shots of the same subject are cut together with a noticeable jump on the screen. In a Hollywood film this would be avoided by either using a shot/reverse shot edit or cutting to a shot from a camera in a position over 30 º from the preceding shot.” (Nottingham, 2001) For example, in A Bout de Souffle jump cuts are used during the long conversation in the room and in a scene in a car driving around Paris. In our video, after the protagonist slams his hand to express his anger the scene cuts to him exiting and throwing his papers and taking his shoes off. The effect is extremely extra and irrelevant especially the part where he takes off his shoes. In was supposed to express how he is stripping himself off his outer shell but the throwing was paper was enough thus the scene where he takes off his shoes and walked off were completely extraneous.

Figure 3. Riding around Paris A Bout de Souffle

Long takes were also a common element of a French New Wave film, for example, the street scene in A Bout de Souffle where the protagonist walks with his girlfriend. The idea is to construct a loose scenarios to give audience the impression that anything might happen next. Open endings were also distinctive, leaving situations unresolved. Truffaut’s Les Quatre Cent Coups is an example of ambiguous ending with the protagonist Antoine caught looking at the camera in a freeze-frame. In terms of our video, the long takes was shown in the conversation at the bar where the protagonist have drink with the person whom he saved from getting robbed, he then proceeds to just leave all of a sudden after rejecting the guy’s advance with no clear explanation why. The video ended there in ambiguity.

Figure 4. Antoine Doinel looking at the camera in a freeze-frame in Les Quatre Cent Coups

Another profound element was that the actors were encouraged to improvise their lines or talk over each other as if it is a real life conversation. In opposition to staged speeches of the usual traditional film acting, lengthy scenes of dialogues that carries no consequences were shown in A Bout de Souffle. Women were also given strong parts often in conjunction of the archetypal roles seen in most Hollywood cinema in which the hero and the strong role are usually cast towards male for example Corrine Marchand in Varda’s Cleo de 5 a 7 – a woman who proceeded to live freely after finding out she has cancer. Thus choosing our protagonist in our short film to release his inner feminism and yet be in full control was for injecting this element. For example the scene where he overpowered the robber. During the interview and the bar scene the conversations were also improvised by the actor themselves.

French New Wave is a film movement that shows more like a corresponded title, or a comprehensive list of the director. French New wave also known as (La Nouvelle Vague) that came about in the late 1950s and early 1960s, resulting from economic, politic, aesthetic, and social trend. It is formed by a group of French young filmmakers who have low budget and against the prevailing trends in the 1950s cinema of literacy adoption, costume dramas and massive co-productions. French film were mainly literacy adaptions such as fictional tales published in books and adapted to cinema. These are filmed within the studio system or on big budget spectacles and international co-productions. Besides, the term of Nouvelle Vague was not in the first instance associated with film making. It is created by Francoise Giroud who is the editor of the then Centre-left weekly L’Express which is to refer the new socially active youth class.

During the German occupation, the Nazis had banned the import of American films. As a result, after the war, when the ban was lifted by the 1946 Blum-Byrnes agreement, nearly a decade worth of missing films arrived in French cinemas in the space of a single year. It was a time for film lovers watched all these previously unreleased movies at the Cinematheque Francaise which is a film archive and public theater in Paris during postwar years.

Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer were the young directors who associated with French New Wave and they were film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma. Magazine Cahiers du Cinéma was founded by Andre Bazin and Jacques Donial Valcroze. The writers for this magazine are Francois Trauffault and Jean-Luc Godard. Till then, making criticism did not satisfy these young men and they planned to make movies. They started to try borrowing money from friends and also filming on location to shoot for their short films. Trauffaut rejects heavy emphasis on plot and dialogue but prefer visual aesthetics and mise-en-scene.

In 1959, Jacques Rivette filmed Paris nous appartient (Paris Belongs to Us), Godard made A Bout de soufflé (Breathless), Chabrol made his second feature, Les Cousins. While in April. Francois Truffaut’s Les Quatre cent coups (The 400 Blows) won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Festival. The journalist named the young directors as La Nouvelle Vague which is the origin of French New Wave. Later on, the five central young directors have total made 32 feature films in 1959 to 1966. Godard and Chabrol have made 11 each. All the films must be different but the similarities are enough for us to identify the New wave approach to style and film. In 1957, the cinema attendance has fall a lot. This is because television has become more widespread. Then in 1959 the industry is in crisis. The only solution was to encourage the independent financing of low-budget projects. The New Wave directors shot films much cheaply and more quickly. They help one another out to reduce the financial risk. In 1964, each of them had their own production company and their group had become involved into film industry.

In the year of 1966-1968, the earlier New Wave had become more politicized and there was no positive reflection of the dominant ideology. This cinema was changed about the process of film making. First New Wave and second New Wave are putting in counter-cinema to the standardization effects of American technology such as hand-held camera, no studio and so forth. The first New Wave was not politicized but it was anti-bourgeois in emotion as well as it was encouraged to present the point of view of the individual in society. Whereby the second new wave was appeared in the late of late of 1960s, where the cinema had become politicized and questioning society. By the 1970s and 1980s, women, Blacks and Beurs were entering into film making.

Francois Truffaut

Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Fran%C3%A7ois_Truffaut_(1965).jpg

Jean-Luc Godard

Retrieved from http://www.theyshootpictures.com/images/godardjeanluc1.jpg

Claude Chabrol

Retrieved from http://www.alexdebrabant.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/claude_chabrol_alex_de_brabant.jpg

Jacques Rivette

Retrieved from http://medias.unifrance.org/medias/98/55/79714/format_page/jacques-rivette.jpg

Eric Rohmer

Retrieved from http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/1/12/1263298530361/Eric-Rohmer-015.jpg

Brooke, M. (2003, July 27). The 'Angry Young Men'. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from screenonline: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/594201/

Evans, G. C. (2009). The French Nouvelle Vague. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from film education: http://www.filmeducation.org/pdf/resources/secondary/FrenchNouvelleVague.pdf

French New Wave. (2013). Retrieved August 17, 2014, from THE CRITEREON COLLECTION: http://www.criterion.com/explore/4-french-new-wave

Hill. J&Gibson.P.C. (1998). The Oxford Guide To Film Studies. (3rd). Oxford University Press.

Hitchman, S. (2008). A HISTORY OF FRENCH NEW WAVE CINEMA. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from New Wave Film.com: http://www.newwavefilm.com/about/history-of-french-new-wave.shtml

Hitchman, S. (2008). A HISTORY OF FRENCH NEW WAVE CINEMA - pg 2. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from New Wave Film.com: http://www.newwavefilm.com/about/history-of-french-new-wave2.shtml

Hitchman, S. (2008). What is the French New Wave, anyway? Retrieved August 17, 2014, from New Wave Film.com: http://www.newwavefilm.com/new-wave-cinema-guide/nouvelle-vague-where-to-start.shtml

JanetB, e. C. (n.d.). Characteristics of French New Wave Cinema. Retrieved August 18, 2014, from eHow: http://www.ehow.com/info_8099620_characteristics-french-new-wave-cinema.html

Margaret Mead. (2014, May 22). Retrieved August 31, 2014, from Wikiquote: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead

Nastasi, A. (2014, June 21). 30 Jean-Paul Sartre Quotes For Your Next Existential Crisis. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from FLAVORWIRE: http://flavorwire.com/463783/30-jean-paul-sartre-quotes-for-your-next-existential-crisis

Neupert, R. (2002). A History of the French New Wave Cinema. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/192047448/A-History-of-the-French-New-Wave-Cinema

Nottingham, S. (2001, September 7). The French New Wave . Retrieved August 31, 2014, from https://soma.sbcc.edu/users/DaVega/FILMST_101/FILMST_101_FILM_MOVEMENTS/FrenchNewWave/french_new_wave_.pdf

Parnell, L. (n.d.). The French New Wave: Revolutionising Cinema. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from FRANCE The Best Art,Food,Culture,Travel: http://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/the-french-new-wave-revolutionising-cinema/

Thompson, K. & Boardwell, D. (2010). Film History: An Introduction (10th Ed.). New York, Nt: McGraw Hill.

Wickham, P. (2003, April 14). British New Wave. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from screenonline: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/445176/

Group Members