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Is Richard Linklater making a documentary about the making of Breathless (1960) or a documentary in the style of Breathless or a fiction film in a documentary style? Of course Godard was, in fact, making an American style gangster film with Seberg, a star whose last film, Bonjour Tristesse (1958), was shot by Otto Preminger, as the moll. One of the truly Godardian aspects of the film is the use of language and particularly aphorism. Godard famously said "cinema is truth 24 frames a second." The dialogue is punctuated with a series of Brechtian declamations about the nature art and reality and life ("I don't know if I'm unhappy, because I'm not free or if I'm not free because I'm unhappy") and cinematic citations (the poster for Humphrey Bogart in The Harder They Fall, Plus dura sera la chute appears in both films). Where Nouvelle Vague is disconcerting is in the portrayal of the supernumeraries, Truffaut, Chabrol and Melville who come off as parodies (the title of the film is misleading--it's not about the "new wave, but a single film) and its attempt to translate Breathless which quite simply falls short. Linklater is an original himself. Nouvelle Vague is his film and not simply a homage to Godard--and that's ultimately the problem. (Edit note: BTW see Breathless whose greatness lies in its imperfection).
