Netflix has unveiled the main trailer for Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater’s bold reimagining of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless.
The film opens in select U.S. theaters on October 31, 2025, before arriving on Netflix U.S. November 14, 2025.
Set in Paris in 1959, Nouvelle Vague is a love letter to the French New Wave, capturing the wild, rule-breaking spirit that forever altered cinema. With its mix of fresh faces, Linklater’s signature observational touch, and an unmistakable affection for Godard’s chaos, the film promises both historical homage and creative reinvention.
A Love Letter to Cinema, and to Godard’s Chaos
Nouvelle Vague is less a conventional biopic than an immersion in a cultural moment. The story follows Jean-Luc Godard, then a critic-turned-director, as he throws out the rulebook while filming Breathless. Linklater taps into the spontaneity that shaped the project, evoking an era when art, politics, and personal identity collided on screen.
In the new trailer, cigarette smoke and street noise fill the air, while handheld shots and sharp cuts hint at the film’s reverence for the jagged rhythms of the New Wave. This is not just the tale of one film but of a movement that redefined how stories could be told.
Watch the Trailer
Cast Brings 1959 Paris to Life
The cast blends American and French talent, embodying figures at the heart of Breathless.
- Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard
- Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg
- Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo
Together, they capture the tension between Hollywood stardom and French cool, a mix that electrified audiences in 1960 and continues to inspire generations of filmmakers.
Behind the Camera
Linklater directs from a screenplay by Holly Gent, Vincent Palmo Jr., Michèle Halberstadt, and Laetitia Masson. The production brings together long-time Linklater collaborators with French partners, ensuring the film feels both global and true to its roots.
Key creative credits include:
- Director of Photography: David Chambille
- Production Designer: Katia Wyszkop
- Costume Designer: Pascaline Chavanne
- Editor: Catherine Schwartz
- Hair & Makeup: Franck-Pascal Alquinet and Turid Follvik
Produced by Laurent and Michèle Pétin of ARP, with Linklater’s Detour Filmproduction, Nouvelle Vague balances authenticity with the director’s loose, naturalistic rhythm.
Paris, 1959: More Than a Setting
Like Boyhood and Before Sunrise, Linklater’s new film isn’t content to simply document. Shot on location in and around Paris, Nouvelle Vague creates a living portrait of a city and a moment. The streets pulse with political unrest, youthful bravado, and the thrill of breaking cinematic boundaries.
The visual palette leans into period detail, trench coats, jazz clubs, and smoky cafés, while layering in the urgency of Godard’s improvisation. The result is a film about the act of creation itself, and about how art can rewrite the rules when you least expect it.
Release Dates
- Select U.S. Theaters: October 31, 2025
- Netflix U.S.: November 14, 2025
For Linklater, Nouvelle Vague is both tribute and reinvention, a reminder that cinema’s greatest revolutions are born from risk. As Godard once broke tradition to find a new language, Linklater revisits that spirit for a streaming era hungry for stories about art itself.
Nouvelle Vague arrives this fall with its trailer now live, and with it, Linklater reimagines the French New Wave.
The Poster
