Recent Obsession - Art Cinema: How was the French New Wave countering mainstream cinematic concerns?

We can consider the French New Wave cinema to be one of the most influential periods throughout the history of cinema. The director Quentin Tarantino is among many others to attribute this movement to having such a fundamental impact upon films made following the French new wave, right through to films made around the world today. As much as the French New Wave was an influential era of film, it is important to also consider the new waves influences, notably from the Italian neo-realists and what it was that evoked them to create such an intervention in the mainstream film making processes of the 1950s and 60s. Therefore throughout this essay I will be assessing what factors contributed to the countering of the mainstream cinema production methods. The main factors I shall address are the social and economical situation of the post world war 2 eras, which saw the countering of cinematic concerns. I will consider the want for a more realistic cinema that left the former dramatized productions behind and what filming as well as editing techniques were used to achieve a whole new innovation. Finally to enable a clear proposal as to how the French new wave were countering mainstream cinematic concerns I shall focus on several directors and their films, by giving examples as to how they achieved the break away from the drama and excitement of Hollywood.

In order to gain a more in depth insight as to what the French new wave directors were  countering in cinema and also why they were creating new methods of production  it is fundamental to consider the aspects of the social, economical and political issues of the era and what changes arose from this in the cinema. It is no surprise as to why the French cinema induced a rebellion against mainstream cinema, after all France was suffering from what could be called irreparable damages from the Second World War. Being one of the nations that suffered the most, economic reparations were not easy due to the low production rate and rising inflation, not yet to mention the later overseas Algerian crisis which over several years added to the countries pressures. We can be sure to say that the new, young directors of the era reflected the social and political upheaval into their films. They were eager to portray a new enriched culture that left the war behind along with its mainstream cinematic ethos.  These directors had no financial backing from studios which meant that the films were considerably low budget, but one can be sure to say that their talents did not suffer because of this; they had in fact created a new set of rules with their own original production value that didn’t require a highly funded production programme. The foundations of this new enlightened cinema were to be a new perspective that favoured realism within its films. No longer were films being created from reliance upon preconceived screenplays and novelists such as Orson Welles and John Ford. The new wave didn’t want this. In their eyes the classical cinema had become false, following formal narratives and staged drama, something new had to intervene tradition which centred upon the individual, self determining human existence, achieved by creating a new cinema of the literal and metaphorical meaning “here and now”[1].

“The Cinema of today is capable of expressing any kind of reality. What interests us is their creation of a new language...The film-maker author writes with his camera as a writer writes with his pen”[2].  This quote from Alexandre Astruc, a French film critic is describing the new age cinema as the age of the “camera-stylo” which is translated as camera pen. The new filming techniques were more individualistic, free flowing in actual film production as much as its personal subject matter. Here I shall address the countering methods of filming such as non-narrative, non actors, real location, real time, objectivity and general experimentation, which created this stylistic film innovation. Firstly by using non-actors the films gained a more expressive, realistic and genuine feel to them, one could almost suggest that a more casual look could be attributed to them. This also links back to the influential neo-realist style where the rawness of the individual was often a signification of nationalism and their current condition within their country and its politics. Another attribute we can attach to the new wave way of filming is the use of real locations and real time, in order to gain a sense of place and be aware of the “mise en scene” that was created.  This idea of real time is enforced with the aid of a new cinematography available to directors. The use of handheld cameras provided a sense of freedom for the director in order to take the film making process anywhere. We see in Agnes Vardas’ 1962 film Cleo, at the start of the film she is descending the staircase, the camera takes on the role of the viewer creating a sense of realism, providing a casual look that also makes the viewer aware of the presence of the camera. This is a fundamental and one could also say a defining theme art cinema. The audience is constantly reminded that they are watching a counter cinema film, which does not follow tradition mainstream, linear narrative cinema. Furthermore, later in the film when Cleo leaves the cafe she strolls along the pavement. The camera comes into contact with oncoming real people in the street, not added extras just normal people going about their daily business, in essence the removal of preconceived dramatization is present. Also evident in this scene is also the use of long or wide shots which establish the surroundings of the character and the real situations they are amongst. Alongside this, the film is then open to the opportunity of improvisation in front of the camera. The use of an “aesthetical shot” a way of filming can also be considered as artistic, for example in the film 400 blows, the boy is seated in front of two mirrors but his reflection is also presented to us in the wardrobe mirror, providing us with a variety of viewpoints through just one camera angle. An issue arising from this idea of expression and improvisation is one of the cinematographers’ contributions. Actually capturing the events is surely subject to a major role within the films artistic potential outcome. An example to emphasise this point is that through the use of handheld cameras cinematographers were given a certain amount of freedom when it came to capturing the look of the shot, no matter how much direction they were initially given.

It was evident that the cinematic language had changed through the use of such techniques. The use of non -narrative according to Christian Metz also considered the “breakdown of narrative”[3] which had a major part to play in this change of cinematic language. A narrative, which is conceived of as being a linear progression of events was all too familiar in the mainstream classical pre-war productions that drew their inspiration from scripted screenplays. The new wave directors sought to breakdown this narrative through the use of editing. One of the most evident innovations within the Nouvelle Vague is the editing processes used, in which the raw material is amalgamated to form the non confirmative look of the film. Through the use of examples from various films and directors which were seen to hold a certain “signature element” of his films, we shall now look at how the films were put together and resulted in a new artistic visual experience of the European art cinema. Starting with Jean- Luc Godard’s 1960 film, À bout de soufflé, which is famous for Godard’s use of innovative editing techniques such as the Jump Cut.  This is fundamental in reinforcing the idea of the new cinema being about expression and providing the viewer with an apperception; that they are aware of watching an art film. This varies from the mainstream by creating unexpected, jumpy scenes that are therefore considered as a quintessential element used within art Cinema. The scene which best represents this idea of a “cinema of the shot” is the car scene in breathless, where we see the back of Jean Seberg’s head and the passing by of the city around her as the convertible travels along the road. For the jump cut to be successful in showing a progression of narrative as well as an artistic method of editing, a “30 degree angle rule”[4] was made to ensure a change in diegesis was evident through disjointed continuity editing.  As a result, the series of shots are presented to us from a varied viewpoint from the one before, making the jumping affect which initiates the disjointed aesthetical sequence.  In the interest of the new wave editing and how the techniques were used to counter mainstream cinema, it is important to consider the use of moving images which is a typical tool used within art cinema.  This technique is shown in Cleo from 5 to 7, when we are made aware of a change in diegesis by a breakaway from a diegetic sequence to a sequence of non diegetic images. Parisian socialite Cleo is walking down the street, but elsewhere in a different setting we are shown clips of other characters within the film, which are in a stationary, contemplative position, alongside images of Cleo’s wig and a her dressing table. Agnes Varda, the film’s director invented the word “Cinecriture”, which she described in 1994 as being a style in cinema, just like writing has a style, “The cutting, the movement, points of view, rhythm of filming and editing have been felt and considered in the way a writer chooses the depth of meaning of sentences, the type of words, chapters, which advance the story or break its flow...”[5]. Furthermore the idea of a non-diegetic sound is also used in correspondence with actual sound going on in the film. The use of a voice over, usually the voice of the main character who the dialogue responds to was an innovative technique of the French new wave which added a new dimension and deliverance of narrative. One film which includes a voice over as well as all of the other distinct editing techniques that have been discussed appears in Jean-Luc Godard’s’ 1965 film Pierrot le fou. The two characters Marianne and Ferdinand are shown escaping from an apartment, with no diegetic sound but a soundtrack playing heightens the brutality of the shots, creating the idea of the action speaking louder than words. In the new wave style the sequence is composed of jump cuts; showing a progression in narrative showing clips that are yet to feature in the actual narrative but are the future intentions of the characters, in an effective, fast paced edgy style.

Consequently, by looking specifically at selected films alongside the innovative methods used by the nouvelle vague we can draw the conclusion that these techniques were a total aberration from Hollywood classical cinema. It was not only the total upturn of production methods used but also and in my opinion most importantly, the new artistic editing techniques that not only changed the look of their films but in a turning of the tables, went onto influence Hollywood cinema and create new possibilities throughout all cinema.  The most fundamental answer as to how the French New Wave countered mainstream cinematic concerns is that they wanted to create a cinema of realism, an idea influenced by the Italian neo-realism cinematic era. This was achieved mainly through a new cinematography and the idea of a pronounced objectivity was at the forefront of these maverick directors concerns. The main concept derived from the new artistic editing techniques was the notion of an introduction of breakdown in narrative; which was usually linear and coherently ordered in mainstream film. Artistic editorial methods such as jump cuts and moving images used within the nouvelle vague were amalgamated with the use of non diegetic sound such as voice over’s which added another dimension to the films together with creating a type suggestion of narrative progression. It is interesting that the French new wave director’s intervention of film was to have such a profound influence upon post-nouvelle vague directors in national cinemas, notably in Hollywood. One of the most significant films that referenced the nouvelle vague was the American gangster film Bonnie and Clyde which was directed by Arthur Penn. Another director that we can attribute a significant French new wave signature feels to his films, that went so far as to dedicate his 1992 debut film “reservoir dogs” to Jean-Luc Goddard, was Quentin Tarantino. Who himself has praised the French new wave as breaking the rules as well as being highly influential to his films. 

Bibliography:

Austin,G, Contemporary French cinema: an introduction, Manchester University Press, 1996.

Bordwell,D, & Thompson,K, “Film art- An introduction”, McGraw-Hill, International Edition, 2001.

Hayward,S,  Cinema studies: the key concepts, Taylor & Francis, 2006.

Metz,C, “The modern cinema and narrativity”- Film Language, Oxford University Press, 1974.

Mitry,J. King,C, The aesthetics and psychology of the cinema, Indiana University Press, 1997.

Neupert,R.J, A history of the French new wave cinema, University of Wisconsin Press, 2007.

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[1] J.Mitry, Christopher King, The aesthetics and psychology of the cinema, Indiana University Press, 1997, pp 53.

[2] R.J.Neupert, A history of the French new wave cinema, University of Wisconsin Press, 2007.pp 48.

[3] C.Metz,“The modern cinema and narrativity”- Film Language, oxford University Press, 1974. pp 54.

[4] S.Hayward, Cinema studies: the key concepts, Taylor & Francis, 2006, pp 416.

[5] G.Austin, Contemporary French cinema: an introduction, Manchester University Press, 1996, pp 85.