20 FRENCH NEW WAVE (NOUVELLE VAGUE) MOVIES FOR YOU TO WATCH!

Anytime I decide to learn a language, I tend to go all in. I listen to music in that language, watch YouTube videos, watch series, movies, the whole shebang! When I first started watching French language movies, I was relying solely on the movies on Netflix, but my friend's boyfriend (a trusty cinephile) recommended me two movies called Pierrot Le Fou and Une Femme est une Femme, I became hooked. It was a strange sort of way of directing but also very interesting and enticing. This newly discovered (to me) style of film actually had a name and it's called Nouvelle Vague. 

WHAT IS NOUVELLE VAGUE?

FRENCH NEW WAVE DEFINITION

What is French New Wave?

The French New Wave was a film movement from the 1950s and 60s and one of the most influential in cinema history. Also known as “Nouvelle Vague," it gave birth to a new kind of cinema that was highly self-aware and revolutionary to mainstream filmmaking. A group of French critics, who wrote for the journal, Cahiers du Cinema, believed films had lost their ability to capture true human emotion and "lacked sincerity." They felt the films were out of step with how people actually live.  

There were quite a few notable French film directors who were part of the movement, including Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, Agnes Varda, and Jacques Demy. Their films were characterized by rejecting film traditions but how did they do that?

FRENCH NEW WAVE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Deemphasized plot & dialogue was often improvised
• Jump cuts rather than continuity editing
• Location shooting
• Handheld cameras
• Long takes
• Direct sound & available light (live recordings, often didn’t adjust light)

Source: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-french-new-wave/

Ok, now that you know a little more about this style, let's get into my top 20 (in no particular order) favorite French Nouvelle Vague films!

1.PIERROT LE FOU (PIERROT THE MADMAN)

Ferdinand, an unhappily married, unemployed man, leaves his wife and children and runs away with his ex-lover Marianne, a weapons smuggler, in search of adventure.

2. LA PISCINE (THE SWIMMING POOL)

When a journalist's boyfriend allows her former lover to drown, the couple must answer questions from an inspector.

3. CLÉO DE 5 À 7 (CLEO FROM 5 TO 7)

Cleo, an arrogant pop star, is a nervous wreck as she awaits the results of a biopsy test. With almost two hours to kill before the results are revealed, she wanders around and bumps into a soldier.

4. LE BEAU MARIAGE (THE GOOD MARRIAGE)

Impetuous and restless art student Sabine is tired of her dead-end job and her married boyfriend, Simon, so she drops both of them. Then, through her pal Clarisse, she meets Edmond, an attorney 10 years her senior. Immediately, she decides marriage is just the change she needs, and that Edmond is the perfect candidate for a husband. And so begins her relentless pursuit of matrimony, much to Edmond's chagrin.

5. LE MÉPRIS (CONTEMPT)

Writer Paul Javal's marriage ends when he lets his wife, Camille drive with the producer, Jeremy Prokosch, as Camille thinks that Paul is using her as a present to Prokosch, to get better pay from him.

6.  CÉSAR ET ROSALIE (CESAR AND ROSALIE)

Rosalie, the wife of a scrap-metal dealer, crosses path with her old flame and realises that she still loves him.

7.  JULES ET JIM (JULES AND JIM)

Drama explores the 30-year friendship between Austrian biologist Jules and Parisian writer Jim and the love triangle formed when the alluring Catherine makes the duo a trio.

8. PAULINE À LA PLAGE (PAULINE AT THE BEACH)

A series of enthralling events follow as Marion and her younger cousin Pauline head out to spend their vacations at the picturesque Normandy coast.

9. LES QUATRE CENTS COUPS (400 BLOWS)

This is the story of a 13-year-old whose adventures were based on the director, Francois Truffaut's own adolescence, who finds comfort at the cinema.

10. UNE FEMME EST UNE FEMME (A WOMAN IS A WOMAN)

 Anna, a stripper by trade, hears her biological clock ticking away. When her boyfriend Emile, who does not want kids, suggests she seek the help of his friend to get pregnant, their lives alter.

11. LE RAYON VERT (THE GREEN RAY)

Delphine is a beautiful young Parisian who is still smarting from a recent break-up. When a friend nixes their travel plans shortly before the trip, Delphine is left to decide how to spend her holiday. Soon she is dealing with various uncomfortable situations, including a beach getaway where she is the only single person. After attempting a trip to the overcrowded Alps, Delphine entertains more vacation options, but will the restless soul ever find what she's looking for?

12. LOLA 

Lola, a cabaret dancer, is pursued by her childhood friend Roland. However, she pays no heed to his affections as she wants to be with Michel, the man who abandoned her and their son.

12. CELINE ET JULIE VONT EN BATEAU (CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING) 

When Celine goes traipsing across a Parisian park, unwittingly dropping first a scarf, then other objects, Julie cannot help but follow her, picking up each item. So begins a fanciful relationship between the two, which soon sees Celine sharing Julie's apartment and each of them playfully switching identities in their daily lives. As they increasingly indulge their fantasies, they find themselves trying to rescue a young girl from a supposedly haunted house.

13. LE GENOU DE CLAIRE (CLAIRE'S KNEE)

Jerome decides to prepare for a lifetime of matrimony by enjoying one last vacation by himself. Upon arriving at his lakeside destination, however, he finds Aurora, a love from his past who is staying nearby. Through Aurora, Jerome is introduced to two teenage sisters, Laura and Claire. Although Laura is smitten with Jerome, it is Claire -- or, more precisely, her knee -- that fascinates the soon-to-be-married man.

14. HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR (HIRSOHIMA, MY LOVE)

The deep conversation between a Japanese architect and a French actress. Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II, the couple -- lovers turned friends -- recount, over many hours, previous romances and life experiences. The two intertwine their stories about the past with pondering the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city.

15. L'AMI DE MON AMIE (BOYFRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS)

The lives of various young French people intersect in a recently constructed suburb near Paris. Blanche, an uptight office worker, falls for the handsome Alexandre, whom she meets through her vibrant new friend, Lea. Unfortunately for Blanche, Alexandre is dating the artistic Adrienne, while Lea is seeing Fabien. Before long, though, these relationships shift, leading to new romantic pairings.

16. MASCULIN FÉMININ (MASCULINE-FEMININE)

Paul, a young idealist trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, takes a job interviewing people for a marketing research firm. He moves in with aspiring pop singer Madeleine, and their affair often involves her two sexy roommates. Paul, however, is disillusioned by the growing commercialism in society, while Madeleine just wants to be successful. The story is told in a series of 15 unrelated vignettes.

17. MA NUIT CHEZ MAUD (MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S)

Jean-Louis is a devout Roman Catholic who subscribes to an austere moral code influenced by the philosophy of Blaise Pascal. When he spots a pretty girl at church, he promises to one day marry her. But then an old friend introduces him to alluring divorcee Maud. After a conversation about love and philosophy, the chaste Jean-Louis spends the night at Maud's place, conflicted about what he desires.

18. À BOUT DE SOUFFLE (BREATHLESS)

Michel, a petty thief, steals a car and impulsively murders a policeman. Hence, he creates an escape plan to hide away in Italy so he pursues his love interest Patricia, to come along with him.

19. L'AMOUR L'APRÈS-MIDI (LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON)

Eric Rohmer's acclaimed meditation on marital fidelity follows Frederic, a successful Parisian lawyer who is happily married to Helene, a schoolteacher. Though Frederic daydreams about affairs with other women, he doesn't come close to acting on such thoughts until he runs into Chloe, a beautiful old acquaintance. Tempted by the vibrant Chloe, Frederic is torn between impulsive lust and his love for his wife.

20. DOMICILE CONJUGAL (BED AND BOARD)

Antoine marries Christine. She gives violin lessons to children in their living room and he sells dyed flowers beneath their window. Antoine and Christine are like children playing a game.

Ok so there you have my 20 nouvelle vague recommendations. There are so many other great movies that I haven't listed here so there may be a part two in the works!