A perpetual innovator who indelibly altered the nature of his craft, French director Jean-Luc Godard stood at the forefront of the French New Wave, the late-1950s movement that included Fran'ois Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, and other former film critics from the journal Cahiers du Cinema who refracted the

Citational, Collage, Deconstructive, Existentialist literature, Expansive, French new wave, Intimate, Minimal, Open-ended, Quiet, Self-reflection, Social revolution

Fran'ois Truffaut's name is by now synonymous with the French New Wave. The movement's birth was heralded when Truffaut printed his official manifesto against "le cinema de papa" in the journal Cahiers du Cinema. "A Certain Tendency in French Cinema," appearing in 1954, rocked the French film world's

Epic, French new wave, Lyrical, Psychological, Sensual

After the crash of the French New Wave had subsided into an uncertain lull, critics complained that French cinema was dead. In reality, it was merely taking a rest. Enter Olivier Assayas, son of a respected pre-New Wave scriptwriter. Although schooled in literature and painting, Assayas maintaine

Dark, French new wave, Psychological, Self-reflection, Tragic

Viewed from one angle, Alain Resnais functioned as a condensation of film production -- writing, directing, shooting, and editing his own films. But looked at from another angle, Resnais embodies a kind of schizophrenia, a multiplication of roles dispersing his voice and being through time and space.

Complex, Dreamy, Enigmatic, French new wave