Cannes is buzzing like a May afternoon in Austin as hometown hero Richard Linklater unveiled his latest cinematic endeavor, “Nouvelle Vague,” at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this weekend. 

The film, an homage to Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 film “Breathless,” culminated in a standing ovation that stretched a full eleven minutes – a true Texas-sized welcome on French soil.

Austin roots, Parisian shores: Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague”

For Linklater, a five-time Oscar nominee deeply rooted in the Austin film scene, “Nouvelle Vague” marks a departure. The film is his first feature filmed entirely in France and spoken entirely in French. However, the spirit of independent filmmaking, so evident in his Austin classics like “Slacker” and “Dazed and Confused,” might permeate this new work. Just as those films captured the rhythm and characters of the Texas capital, “Nouvelle Vague” dives headfirst into the chaotic and revolutionary energy of the French New Wave.

Linklater’s connection to Austin and Texas remains strong, with many of his most beloved films deeply embedded in the state’s cultural fabric. While “Nouvelle Vague” takes him across the Atlantic, his fascination with capturing human moments and pushing cinematic boundaries feels distinctly Texan in spirit.

Beyond remake: Linklater reimagines the making of Godard’s “Breathless”

The film stars Guillaume Marbeck as Godard, Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg, and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo. Linklater’s approach, as revealed in production notes, wasn’t to simply remake “Breathless,” but to immerse the audience – and his actors – in the moment of its creation. He urged his cast to embody the spirit of 1959 Paris, where a young Godard, a film critic turned first-time director, was shaking up cinematic conventions.

Adding to the electric atmosphere was none other than Quentin Tarantino, a fellow titan of independent cinema who, according to reports, was so enamored with Linklater’s creation that he attended not one but two screenings within eight hours, enthusiastically leading the thunderous applause. Talk about a double feature worthy of the Alamo Drafthouse.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re suddenly craving a trip to the French Legation State Historic Site to ponder the intersection of Texas and the French New Wave.