In the year 1960, French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard released “Breathless,” a romance-crime film that has been said to have demolished the norm and reestablished what a movie could be through the unique stylistic decisions within its writing, directing and editing. Now, in 2025, Richard Linklater has released “Nouvelle Vague,” a film chronicling the production of “Breathless”.

“Nouvelle Vague” is shot in black and white, just like “Breathless,” and cinematographer David Chambille successfully mimics the visuals of the film it tells the origin story of, contributing to the overall immersion you feel while watching the movie.

Despite consistently enjoying Linklater’s films, I have never been all that impressed by his directorial work from behind the camera. “Nouvelle Vague” finally subverted that.

The shooting of “Breathless” was chaotic and spontaneous, fueled by Jean-Luc Godard’s ego and aspirations to make something bigger than himself, and Linklater effectively injects that energy into the film’s direction.

Many of the moments showing the filming of specific scenes from “Breathless” are shot from far away, as if establishing them as important historical events, which is exactly how the character of Godard viewed them.

The camera will slowly move around the scenes in between the shooting of “Breathless,” emphasizing the state of mind of those involved in this sporadic production and the uncomfortable calmness of the interim.

Despite how Godard’s view of the film’s events is conveyed to us, the movie never felt like it was trying to insist weight and importance onto the film’s events like many other movies that portray real people do.

The screenplay written by Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo instead opts for a much more naturalistic way of telling this story. The dialogue always felt grounded and true to life. The characterization through the dialogue and character interactions was great.

The character of Godard is a lot of fun to watch because of the consistent chaos he brings to the table. This makes the constant annoyance Jean Seberg, the lead actress of “Breathless,” feels towards his chaos understandable, yet amusing.

The friendship between Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo, the other “Breathless” lead, is also charming because of the bond the two characters feel from going through the production’s turmoil together.

As on-screen text tells us right before the credits roll, “Breathless” is considered by many to be one of the most influential films of all time, but its importance could have been better conveyed by the film itself.

As it stands, “Nouvelle Vague” comes across as somewhat pointless and insignificant.

If the film was more effective at portraying the norms when it came to movies at the time — and how “Breathless” was revolutionary because it broke them — that would create a powerful and fascinating dichotomy between the dysfunction of the production and the long-term impact of the film.

Much of the charm and watchability of the film’s characters is elevated by the performances. The standout is definitely Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, who wonderfully embodies both the irritation and charisma of her character, making her likable and effortless to root for.

Aubry Dullin shows great chemistry with Deutch as Jean-Paul Belmondo, while also effectively portraying his character’s playful and outgoing spirit overall.

Guillaume Marbeck also shines as Godard, bringing the appropriate amount of arrogance and spontaneity to the role without losing sight of the humanity of the character.

The atmosphere of the film is further heightened by the excellent choices of licensed music throughout, which includes both lyrical and instrumental songs that enhance the film.

When making a movie showcasing a character’s intent to reinvent the wheel when it comes to cinema, there seems to be an unspoken pressure to do so yourself. Linklater does not do that in “Nouvelle Vague.”

In many ways, it is your standard retelling of a historical event with no big swings taken, but I do have to applaud the more naturalistic approach this film takes as opposed to many movies like it.

“Nouvelle Vague” is Linklater’s second release of the year, following “Blue Moon,” a movie that I greatly love. It was always unlikely “Nouvelle Vague” would reach the heights of “Blue Moon,” and it does not.

However, “Nouvelle Vague” still delivers much to appreciate and is worth a watch for anyone interested in filmmaking or movies in general.