The French New Wave (1959-1964)

In the mid 1950s, a bunch of young men made a habit of attacking the most artistically respected French filmmakers of the day. And take note they wrote their criticisms on the influential french film magazine, Cahiers du Cinema.

We have Jean-Luc Godard who addressed the 21 major directors he asserted, "Your camera movements are ugly because your subjects are bad, your casts act badly because your dialogue is worthless; in a word you don't know how to create cinema because you no longer even know what it is". Francois Truffaut and Godard along with Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette also praised directors considered somewhat outdated or eccentric.

"We were all critics before beginning to make films and I loved all kinds of cinema, the Russians, the Americans, the Neorealists. It was the cinema that made us or me, at least want to make films. I knew nothing of life except through the cinema" - Jean Luc Godard, director.

I really liked that quote from Director Godard. Giving criticisms aren't used just to insult but to bring out the best in you. Being criticized is not fun at all but at least, you'll know what you lack. You'll be aware since you've been told about the things you need to change. I believe that it's a very effective tool for us to be able to realize that we can be the best.

Writing criticism didn't satisfy these young men, they are hungry to make movies. They even started borrowing money from friends and filming on location to shoot their short movies. 

New wave films pushed further the Neorealist experimentation with plot construction. The films often lack goal-oriented protagonists. New Wave narratives often introduce startling shifts in tone, jolting our expectations. The New Wave films ends ambiguously. 

The New wave offered not only several original and valuable films but they also demonstrated that renewal in the film industry could come from talented, aggressive young people inspired in large part by the love of cinema.