Netflix has acquired Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” after its buzzy debut at the Cannes Film Festival, TheWrap has learned. The deal was in the $4 million range and will see the movie, which chronicles the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s French New Wave classic “Breathless,” released directly on the streamer with an awards-qualifying two-week run in theaters.
Most of the reviews of Linklater’s film were glowing, with TheWrap’s Ben Croll singling out Linklater’s impeccable craft as he chronicles the making of “Breathless” in the style of “Breathless,” complete with French-language dialogue.
Croll wrote: “A labor of love and a product of considerable craft, Richard Linklater’s ‘Nouvelle Vague’ — which chronicles the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ — is more than just a valentine to the French New Wave; the film is also a stealth showcase for a filmmaker rarely heralded (or for that matter, tribuned) for his technical sophistication. Indeed, without ever calling too much attention to its more than 300 VFX-shots, Linklater’s latest plays as a hang-out film from a world gone by – a ramble across 1950s Paris that ushers viewers into the nearest café, inviting them to pull up a seat.”
This isn’t Linklater’s first collaboration with Netflix — the streamer picked up his independently made “Hit Man” starring Glen Powell and released that in 2024 to success.
Linklater also has his Ethan Hawke-starring “Blue Moon” hitting theaters in October from Sony Pictures Classics.
