a new wave, trend, movement, phase, etc., especially in an art form.
the films of a group of young French and Italian filmmakers, beginning in the late 1950s, who emphasized conscious manipulation of film techniques and psychological probing instead of plot.
Literally, “new wave”
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The film was based on an idea by François Truffaut, another icon of the nouvelle vague, and began shooting in Paris without a script.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2021
The double bill was an immersion in the black-and-white, Gauloise-enriched universe of nouvelle vague Paris, and exiting the theater onto Bleecker Street became a disorienting extension of the movies, a demonstration of the medium’s power.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2016
In this case, it was mental images of these two great iconic figures of the French nouvelle vague as the younger, more vigorous and physically beautiful figures they once were.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2012
The intention of the nouvelle vague, he said, had been "more personal films", but the results were films which were, in fact, "more than personal: they became narcissistic".
From The Guardian ● Sep. 8, 2010
Indians incorporated the new pigments into their traditions, expanding them and in the process creating an aesthetic nouvelle vague.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
He adds: “In fact, it already produced the Nouvelle Vague of people like François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
Linklater's "Nouvelle Vague," streaming on Netflix from November 14, charts how young French director Jean-Luc Godard defied all filmmaking convention to create his 1960 classic "Breathless."
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
Director Richard Linklater's Nouvelle Vague is described as telling the story of the making of Jean Luc Godard's 1960 classic Breathless, in the same style and spirit as the original.
From BBC ● May 12, 2025
During that time, Ms. Wiazemsky met Godard, already renowned for his 1960 feature “Breathless,” which launched the La Nouvelle Vague, or the French New Wave movement.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2017
Karina Zeviani, the former singer of Nouvelle Vague and Thievery Corporation, released her first solo album last year.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 2, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
