Nouvelle Vague (2025 film)

Last updated

Nouvelle Vague
Nouvelle-Vague teaser.jpeg
French theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Linklater
Written by
  • Holly Gent
  • Vincent Palmo
  • Adaptation and dialogue:
Produced by
  • Michèle Pétin
  • Laurent Pétin
Starring
CinematographyDavid Chambille
Edited by Catherine Schwartz
Production
companies
  • ARP Productions
  • Detour Production
Distributed by
  • ARP Sélection (France)
  • Netflix (United States)
Release dates
  • 17 May 2025 (2025-05-17)(Cannes)
  • 8 October 2025 (2025-10-08)(France)
  • 31 October 2025 (2025-10-31)(United States)
Running time
105 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • United States
Languages
  • French
  • English

Nouvelle Vague is a 2025 comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater. Starring Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard, Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo, it follows the shooting of Breathless , one of the first feature films of the Nouvelle Vague era of French cinema, in 1959.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2025. It will be theatrically released in France by ARP Sélection on 8 October 2025, and later will be released in select theaters in the United States on 31 October 2025, before streaming on Netflix on 14 November.

Cast

Production

Linklater revealed his plans in October 2023 to shoot a film in France about the French New Wave movement. [6] [7] The film is Linklater's first project shot entirely in French. It is reported to be shot in black and white and in 4:3 aspect ratio. [3] Filming began in Paris on 4 March 2024, and concluded in April 2024. [8] The film received an avance sur recettes  [ fr ] (advance on receipts) grant of France's Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC). [9] [10]

Release

Marbeck, Deutch and Linklater during the film's Cannes premiere Nouvelle Vague (2025)-69752.jpg
Marbeck, Deutch and Linklater during the film's Cannes premiere

In April 2025, Nouvelle Vague was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 17 May 2025 and received a 11-minute standing ovation. [11] [12]

Following its Cannes premiere, Netflix bought U.S. distribution rights for $4 million after a heated bidding war; this sum is believed to be the second highest ever paid for a domestic deal for a foreign language film only behind Emilia Pérez , also purchased at Cannes by Netflix. While release plans were not disclosed, the film is expected to be in theaters for only two weeks in an awards-qualifying run before streaming on Netflix. [13]

It will be theatrically released in France by ARP Sélection on 8 October 2025. In the United States, it will be released in select theaters on 31 October 2025, before streaming on Netflix on 14 November. [14]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 86% of 44 critics' reviews are positive. [15] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [16]

Lee Marshall of ScreenDaily described the film as "a nostalgic tribute to a time and place of extraordinary creative ferment". [17]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2025 Palme d'Or Richard LinklaterNominated [18]

References

  1. Vaz, Robin (11 May 2024). "On y était : sur le tournage de "Nouvelle Vague", le nouveau film de Richard Linklater". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  2. Walcott, Escher (4 March 1024). "Zoey Deutch Shocks with Platinum Pixie Hair Transformation — and She Helped Do the Cut Herself!". People. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 Zaffina, Federica (29 March 2024). "Il nuovo film di Linklater omaggerà la Nouvelle Vague". Taxidrivers.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  4. Pasquini, Mattia (27 March 2024). "Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater come Godard". Ciak Magazine (in Italian). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  5. Vardhan, Harsh (21 March 2024). "Richard Linklater's Nouvelle Vague Cast Adds Jean-Jacques Le Vessier, Jodie Ruth-Forest, and Jonas Marmy". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  6. Perez, Rodrigo (11 October 2023). "Richard Linklater Says He's Shooting "Secret" Project With Ethan Hawke & French New Wave Film Shot In Paris". The Playlist. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  7. King-Clements, Eloise (10 October 2023). ""You're a Freak, Too": Gregg Araki, in Conversation with Richard Linklater". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  8. Morán, David (26 April 2024). "Richard Linklater: "El cine estaba ahí para vender palomitas; ahora lo que busca es nuestros datos"". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  9. Geisinger, Gabriella (18 March 2024). "Richard Linklater's 'Nouvelle Vague' among first 2024 recipients of CNC funding". Screen Daily. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  10. "Avance sur recettes avant réalisation : résultats de la commission du 29 février 2024" (in French). Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  11. Keslassy, Elsa; Shafer, Ellise (10 April 2025). "Cannes Film Festival Unveils 2025 Lineup". Variety . Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  12. "The Screenings Guide of the 78th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  13. D'Alessandro, Anthony; Wiseman, Andreas (26 May 2025). "Netflix Buys Richard Linklater's 'Breathless' Homage & Love Letter To Cinema 'Nouvelle Vague' In Record Domestic Deal For A French-Language Movie". Deadline. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  14. Feinberg, Scott (31 July 2025). "Netflix Sets 'Nouvelle Vague' Awards Season Release Dates — Theatrical and Streaming — and Categories (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  15. "Nouvelle Vague". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 17 July 2025. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  16. "Nouvelle Vague". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  17. Marshall, Lee (17 May 2025). "'Nouvelle Vague' review: Richard Linklater dramatises the making of Godard's 'Breathless'". ScreenDaily .
  18. "The films of the Official Selection 2025". Festival de Cannes . 10 April 2025. Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.