New Wave Video Essay- Rough Script

New Wave Video Essay Rough Script

The French New wave was a pivotal turning point in cinema, it rebelled against a medium that became stale and bland, injecting a vibrancy and charisma that had previously never been seen before in the art.

the french new wave was essentially a rebellion against the classical formula of film,originating in the post war france of the 50’s, pioneered by the young turks, a group of four film reviewers for the magazine Cahiers du cinema, the young turks most notably jean luc godard had a habit of attacking the most artistically respected French filmmaker of the day. 

Writing criticism didn’t satisfy these young men, no matter how much they attacked the stale medium of film, they sensed no change in the medium, by the end of the decade the turks began making there on movies with borrowed money, un restricted by the rules and regulations of studio environments and the rules and regulations of the publishers, thus began the french new wave. 

The new wave sought to re define film, the young turks believed that film no longer represented the angst and existentialism that the post war generation was defined by, for them, film represented a false idealism, an art form un damaged by the horrors of the war.

 The pioneers of the new wave chose to completely re invigorate the technical and narrative aspects of there films, rejecting the tried and true methods of films previous, using techniques that were previously un used and shunned by there predecessors, some would say that these abstract techniques are representative of the young turks and the generation they spoke for, imperfect and damaged, disillusioned by the idealism of the medium. 

the environment and social climate of 50’s paris also played a major role in the new wave, budget restraints and technical restrictions were reflected upon in the film of the turks, films were shot on location, in the grime and dirt of the streets rather than extravagant studios, cameras were cheap and hand held due to budget restrictions, actors and subjects within the films were close friends of the directors, as hiring actors was to expensive, all these little characteristics and technical choices culminate in a style utterly unique to the French New wave. 

this essay will not only be a study into the characteristics of the french new wave films, but also an in depth study of the films of jean luck Godard, his existentialist views and unique visual aesthetic, and whether or not he can be considered an auteur

perhaps the most notable figure from the new wave is Jean Luc Godard, A visionary in the medium both nationally and internationally. Admired for his inventive and unique approach to cinema, his works resonated with a generation of bitter and jaded individuals.

 in this video essay i will be comparing and contrasting three of his works, namely; 1960’s breathless, 1963’s le petit soldat and 1962’s my life to live, to identify any reoccurring motif’s and thematic styles that solidify Godard as an auteur 

but first, what is an auteur, according to francois truffaut; "a true film auteur is someone who brings something genuinely personal to his subject instead of producing a tasteful, accurate but lifeless rendering  of the original material’. this essentially means a filmmaker who has full creative control over his or her work, controlling all aspects of the film that makes it so.

 this ranges across everything, the cinematography, the editing, the direction, the mise en scene, every aspect should be tightly controlled by the director in order for them to be considered an auteur 

Breathless 

breathless is considered Godards magnus opus, not only his first feature film, but his first response or attack against the medium. the film deals with existentialism and love and betrayal in a refreshing light compared to similar films, drenched with a film noir esque style, and characters who are representitive of the bridge between the hollywood film scene and the traditional french film scene. To identify re occurring themes throughout godards work, we first need to identify them, and what better place to start than his first feature film, breathless 

lets start by explaining the synopsis of the film, the narrative revolves around Michel, a criminal and murderer who is obsessed with film persona of humphrey bogart, michal murders a policeman on a country road and is subsequently hunted by the police, michal penniless and wanted turns to an american paper seller for security, The ambivalent Patricia unwittingly hides him in her apartment as he simultaneously tries to seduce her and call in a loan to fund their escape to Italy. 

Patricia says she is pregnant, probably with Michel's child. She learns that Michel is on the run when questioned by the police. Eventually she betrays him, but before the police arrive she tells Michel what she has done. He accepts his fate and awaits the police, he steps out into the street to greet them, but is shot, he runs down the street, stumbling, but falls, he dies breathless and alone. 

the entire film is drenched in cynicism and existential metaphors and symbolism, almost every scene has an element of this theme, but for the sake of convenience ill pick out a few key scenes that truly embody this motiff. 

bedroom scene 

The impossibility of love, another central Godardian theme, is played out in the relationship between Michel and Patricia. In the long hotel room scene, which takes up nearly a third of the screen time, the two lovers talk, joke, argue and fool about, but frequently fail to completely understand each other. during this scene we can clearly see that patricia is romantically interested in michal, he is a perfect opposite to her personality, patricia is adventurous and competent, respectable but ultimately, frightened by the world around her, whilst michal is an ameteur anarchist, jaded and disillusioned by the society and culture around him. this easily represents the context of the new wave, especially Godards personal ideology’s and beliefs regarding the state of cultural decay him and his generation found himself in. 

however, patricia isn’t truly in love with michal, she is in love with the aura of mysteriousness around him, his power as a character. , but she knew that this power doesn’t correspond to the society in which she planned to live and succeed in. She learned to love Michel’s dedication to an unknown alternative to the reality they both known, but ultimately, couldn’t make herself fall for this alternative. 

death scene 

the final scene of the film involves michals final stand against all odds, his desperate attempt at an escape and his fall. though wounded Michel is not trying to run away from the police or resist. Betrayed by desperate Patricia (whose love for him was forcing her to make too radical change in her life and priorities), whom he gave the chance to abandon him, Michel is running somewhere in the direction of his uncertain existentialist dream. whilst this scene is rather distressing, at its essence it can be considered a love letter to Godards generation, though wounded and broken, they continue to follow there uncertain dreams, with no set destination or plan the people still rebel against the conformity and denial of the post war years. and this, to godard is beautiful 

the final shot of the film is also worth mentioning, the camera pans down to michals face on the floor, wishing in agony and pain, he looks up at the camera and mimics patricas facial expressions from earlier in the bedroom scene. this is godard essentially laughing in the face of death, a final existential mockery before slipping into death. a commentary on how the people of post war france succumbed to greed to consume pleasures provided by society in exchange for obedience, a polite and happy smile though fake, in order to retain the normality of there lives.

opening scene. 

the film opens with a static close of michal staring out to the street, signalling his accomplice out of shot, his expression is completely uncaring, he appears to be almost bored by the crime he knows he is about to commit, in this scene michael is the embodiment of the cultural mindset of godard and his peers, he is almost an alien in the pseudo-happiness, quietly observing the oblivious and content around him.

Michel’s particular gesture of, as if, zipping up his mouth is a sign of refusing to talk in the way that be fits the time, unimportant personal achievements desperately exaggerated by the people, refusing to notice and address the crippling existential dread the war forced upon the people of france, blindly living there life as though nothing had happened. michals gesture of zipping his mouth shut, is a subtle, yet rebellious action. 

my life to live 

simmiraly to breathless, my life to live explores the concept of existentialism but this time coupled with the theory of hard determinism, the theory that even before we are born our path and actions throughout life are pre determined meaning that we have no free will, we are born and we die in a pre determined way. 

As is the New Wave way, there are many unconventional techniques used in the creation of Vivre sa vie. Filmed on the streets of Paris, it is sometimes possible to see non-actors looking at the camera, as if they are being drawn to the star, Anna Karina. Long takes are prevalent, and, according to an interview with Godard, were often accomplished in the first take. "If retakes were necessary, it was no good," he was quoted as saying. The storytelling method played with the film form. It is not a simple A to B narrative; pieces are missing, and it is impossible to fill them in given the information given in the film. The camera moves to follow the action; if it is possible not to have an edit, that is usually the decision made. There are many existential and philosophical questions raised -- some answered, some not -- but the film, too, as the youthful New Wave director began to question life itself. The fourth wall is broken, to a haunting effect. It is a rebellious piece that often plays with story structure and film technique, like many of the New Wave films. Likely done for both practical or artistic reasons, Vivre sa vie could be described as avant-garde quite easily and correctly.

We're introduced to Nana a girl who craves fame and wealth so badly that she is willing to prostitute herself and we track her through her descent into despair. The film; broken up into 13 chapters designed to take you out of and limit your engagement with the film, highlights the absurdity of Nana's existence. Nana is a mother, yet we never see a child or maternal moment. Nana is poor yet lives carefree. She is a prostitute yet even then she is turned down by a client. The mental toll this takes on her causes her to defiantly state in a cafe that she is herself and in total control, demonstrating by moving her body parts. Yet not long after this Nana is sold like she were a plaything and killed in the resulting struggle. She lived, she tried, she died

everything within this film relates directly to existentialism and the context of the new wave,  just as we did for breathless, we will analyses key scenes that show us the re occurring motifs of existentialism. 

le petit soldat 

le petit soldat was godards second feature film, shot and released within the same year as breathless (1960), just as radical and controversial as the first, the film was met with a storm of controversy not only due to the film now infamous torture scene, but also due to its politically charged narrative.