Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague: A Historic Biopic On The Making Of Breathless

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Following the hit film Blue Moon, director Richard Linklater is back with Nouvelle Vague, a biopic that tells the story of how Jean-Luc Godard made his iconic film Breathless. The movie focuses on Godard’s struggles to create his first low-budget feature, a French crime story about a man on the run who falls for an American journalism student.

Director Linklater again teams up with Zoey Deutch, who previously starred in Everybody Wants Some!!, for his new film Nouvelle Vague. The movie features Deutch as Jean Seberg, with newcomer Aubry Dullin playing Jean-Paul Belmondo. Guillaume Marbeck portrays Godard, Bruno Drefürst plays legendary producer Georges de Beauregard, and Adrien Rouyard is François Truffaut. The biopic, which premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, currently boasting an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Nouvelle Vague is a noteworthy film for everyone involved. It’s director Linklater’s first movie filmed entirely in French, in black and white, and using a traditional 4:3 aspect ratio. For Netflix, the film is a potential Oscar contender and represents their second-highest domestic acquisition of a foreign film, following their purchase of the controversial but ultimately award-winning Emilia Pérez.

To celebrate the release of the film on Netflix, ScreenRant spoke with Richard Linklater, Aubry Dullin, Zoey Deutch, and Guillaume Marbeck about Nouvelle Vague. Aubry Dullin shared that he truly felt like he’d stepped back in time to the French New Wave while filming the scene of Michel Poiccard’s death, explaining they were filming on the very street where a famous scene from the movie Breathless was originally shot.

Deutch described the film’s production as incredibly self-referential, recalling that a particular scene was filmed just a couple of blocks from Montparnasse Cemetery. Dullin added that a photo exists of Belmondo in character as Poiccard on location, and this complete connection to the Nouvelle Vague movement made him feel like they were creating something historically significant.

Deutch explained that, to promote the film, she and some of the crew revisited the filming location a month before the interview for a photoshoot. There, they met a woman who remembered being present when they shot the scene inspired by the ending of Breathless. Deutch described the encounter as a “very sweet” and memorable moment.

Nouvelle Vague Is “More Of An Interpretation” Of Seberg & Belmondo’s Dynamic

ScreenRant asked Zoey about a conversation she and Richard had years ago while working on the film Everybody Wants Some!!, calling it a hidden gem. She was asked how it felt to revisit that discussion after so much time.

I felt incredibly lucky and grateful. I think if the opportunity had come along a little later, they might have had to find someone else. I was starting to get too old for the role, which he likes to joke about – it always makes me laugh. I was honestly shocked and didn’t really expect this to happen, especially at that point in my life. I feel very fortunate it all worked out.

ScreenRant asked Aubry, since this was her first movie and she was taking on a role previously played by a legendary actor, if she felt intimidated. They also wanted to know what aspects of the original performer, Belmondo, she focused on honoring in her portrayal.

I simply wanted Belmondo’s family to feel good seeing him in the film, and I’m hoping they do. Mostly, I want people who knew him to watch it and feel like, ‘Yes, that still captures his spirit.’

People are always surprised by Rick’s wife, Aubry. I constantly get asked where he even found her, and a lot of people wonder if she’s related to Jean-Paul Belmondo, the famous actor. The most common question I get is whether she’s his daughter!

Aubry Dullin: Oh wow, I didn’t know that.

Zoey Deutch: So humble.

ScreenRant noted the strong connection between the actors in Breathless contributed to the film’s lasting impact, and they observed a similar dynamic between us while filming. They asked us to discuss what we believed our characters’ feelings were towards each other by the movie’s conclusion.

What you saw was partly our own creative take on their relationship. We know they cared for each other a lot, and we just expanded on that a bit for the story. It wasn’t necessarily what actually happened, but we didn’t think it was too far-fetched.

Linklater Finds That Nouvelle Vague & Blue Moon Are “In Conversation” With One Another

ScreenRant asked Guillaume about playing Jean-Luc Godard early in his career. They wanted to know what core aspects of Godard’s personality he focused on bringing to life in his portrayal.

Guillaume Marbeck believes this idea connects to what Richard mentioned earlier. It’s that crucial time when you have a new, exciting vision, but you’re uncertain if anyone will actually see it. You might also doubt whether your team will support your idea and trust you to deliver. This was especially true for Jean-Luc Godard, particularly when he had the chance to direct his first feature film – it must have been a pivotal moment for him.

ScreenRant asked Richard about his films Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon, noting that both focus on particular times in the entertainment world. They were curious how his creative process differed for each one.

It’s interesting that these two films are coming out around the same time, as they seem to be responding to each other. ‘Nouvelle Vague’ captures the start of a brilliant artistic journey, while ‘Blue Moon’ reflects on the end of one. It’s about an artist being overtaken by changing times, though in Godard’s case, he often moved ahead of the times, constantly reinventing himself. He had a remarkable career, continuing to create with his distinctive style until the very end, and I really admire that. Artists are unpredictable, and you never know how the world will receive your work.

In ScreenRant’s interview, the interviewer asked Guillaume about Jean-Luc’s directing style and how it affected Jean. They noted that Jean often seemed frustrated with Jean-Luc’s methods, but acknowledged the films were successful. The interviewer then asked Guillaume to share his interpretation of how Jean’s feelings towards Jean-Luc evolved throughout the movie.

From what I understand, the director really wanted to liberate the actress. She’d just finished a project with a very rigid filmmaker, and he believed true realism meant letting her improvise, not dictating her performance. It was almost like he intentionally didn’t give her direction, wanting to see what would happen if she was truly free to interpret the role herself. And it worked! He wanted her to feel empowered to take ownership, and she did – she decided to just go for it and do things her way. She even wrote in her letters and shared with people afterward that the experience was incredibly freeing and allowed her to express her own artistic vision. He saw someone who was overly controlled and really wanted to unlock her potential.

Richard Linklater points out that the director challenged the actress to be spontaneous, which goes against typical actor training. Actors naturally want to know the script and understand their character, but he deliberately frustrated her by not providing that. Ultimately, though, he was asking her to simply be herself. Linklater describes the resulting film as something of a miracle – a project that shouldn’t have worked, but did, thanks to the director’s unique approach and the captivating chemistry between the leads, Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

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2025-11-12 23:37