A Film Blog by Sam Blumberg

The French New Wave, a film movement in the 50s and 60s, had a vibrant influence on movies and it's impact is still felt today. These films were known for rejecting the traditional ways movies were made by having nonlinear stories and extremely stylized approaches. These movies played with the basic storylines to create something totally different and new, films that always defied the audience's expectations. A leader in this movement was François Truffaut, a filmmaker best known for his 1959 film  The 400 Blows, an autobiographical film about a neglected Parisian boy. He was very inspired by Alfred Hitchcock and even wrote a book about him which was turned into a movie in 2015. Another visionary in the French New Wave movement was Jean-Luc Godard. He was admired for his experimental, genre-defying films that emphasized the presentation of the story as much as the story itself.

Neorealistic films focused more on the common people than the lavish acts of the wealthy. These films reflected the people idealisms in the post WW2 era by capturing the poverty and desperation of the time. These films are shot on site and use local people as well as professional actors. Stylistically, these films had loose storylines and more conversational speech. They were shot and edited very simply and purposefully.