french new wave

Storm de Hirsch’s Utterly Unclassifiable Feature Film ‘Goodbye in the Mirror’

Storm de Hirsch’s Utterly Unclassifiable Feature Film ‘Goodbye in the Mirror’

Thematically and stylistically, Storm de Hirsch’s Goodbye in the Mirror is a bizarre amalgam of films by Varda, Cassavetes, Akerman, Wishman, and a dozen other directors working across mainstream, independent, and avant-garde contexts.

Shunned French Crime Film ‘A Woman Kills’ Slips Out of the Shadowy Margins

Shunned French Crime Film ‘A Woman Kills’ Slips Out of the Shadowy Margins

French New Wave director Jean-Denis Bonan is among the cursed and damned filmmakers – revered by a few, reviled by most. His formerly shunned A Woman Kills (1968) slips out of the shadowy margins and appears for modern viewers.

Two Important, Stylish, French New Wave Films from Jacques Doniol-Valcroze

Two Important, Stylish, French New Wave Films from Jacques Doniol-Valcroze

Jacques Doniol-Valcroze’s New Wave film A Game for Six Lovers is drenched in High Culture, while La Dénonciation is high Sixties style and gripping all the way.

The One Life of Two Women in Jacques Rivette’s ‘Céline and Julie Go Boating’

The One Life of Two Women in Jacques Rivette’s ‘Céline and Julie Go Boating’

Céline and Julie Go Boating transcends its mystic device of hijacked cinéma verité to present an authentic idea of truth in the contrived world of celluloid.

The Conception of Morality in Éric Rohmer’s ‘Six Moral Tales’

The Conception of Morality in Éric Rohmer’s ‘Six Moral Tales’

Éric Rohmer isn't interested in a pure critique of misogyny; his moral tales are mere observations on how we use other people to serve our interests and how we invent narratives from our relationships through which we define ourselves.

A Private Revolution: Jean-Luc Godard’s Second Wave

A Private Revolution: Jean-Luc Godard’s Second Wave

Jean-Luc Godard's cinematic oddities First Name: Carmen, Détective, and Hélas pour moi, newly released on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, embody the vast landscape of possibilities open to the director during the '80s and '90s.

How Is It That Agnès Varda Is So Well Known — Yet So Unknown?

How Is It That Agnès Varda Is So Well Known — Yet So Unknown?

Our pop culture landscape is controlled by capitalistic saturation and a deeply-entrenched machismo ethic. It might not be powerful enough to erase Agnès Varda's genius, but it is shameless enough to eliminate her from the common discourse.

Rivette’s ‘Paris nous appartient’ Nods to McCarthyism, Communist Witch Hunts, and Cold War Paranoia in the USA

Rivette’s ‘Paris nous appartient’ Nods to McCarthyism, Communist Witch Hunts, and Cold War Paranoia in the USA

Jacques Rivette's first French New Wave film, Paris nous appartient, is infused with the look and feel of Hollywood's more paranoid, conspiratorial and apocalyptic films noir.

‘Agnès Varda between Film, Photography and Art’

‘Agnès Varda between Film, Photography and Art’

When we objectify Agnès Varda as a "harmless granny" in pop culture, we lose perspective of her important work. DeRoo's book works toward rectifying this.

A Feminist Adventure Unfolds When ‘Celine and Julie Go Boating’

A Feminist Adventure Unfolds When ‘Celine and Julie Go Boating’

Jacques Rivette's film features two female characters who exhibit feminine strength and solidarity in a masculine world.

Jean-Pierre Melville’s ‘Le Samouraï’ Plays with the Perils of the Loner

Jean-Pierre Melville’s ‘Le Samouraï’ Plays with the Perils of the Loner

Under the lens of cultural and historical context, as well as understanding the reflective nature of popular culture, it's hard not to read this film as a cautionary tale about the limitations of isolationism.

The Magical Presence of Anna Karina: More Than Godard’s Muse

The Magical Presence of Anna Karina: More Than Godard’s Muse

It’s not that Anna Karina couldn’t act, but that she didn’t have to. Her physical presence was the art, and her beauty, in and of itself, was a significant contribution to the culture.

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