Best 20 French New Wave Films

By Vlad Zakh · April 2, 2026

France Arthouse thought provokingslow and atmospheric

The French New Wave produced some of cinema’s most influential films, with innovative storytelling, naturalistic performances and existential themes that still inspire filmmakers. Breathless follows a car thief who kills a policeman and hides with an American girlfriend, The 400 Blows has Antoine Doinel turning to petty crime in Paris, Jules and Jim explores a pre-war love triangle, and Vivre Sa Vie follows Nana into prostitution. Contempt, Band of Outsiders, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Pierrot le Fou, Alphaville, Masculine Feminine and Claire’s Knee round out the list.

Breathless (À Bout de Souffle) (1960) 01

Breathless (À Bout de Souffle) (1960)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A young car thief falls for an American student in Paris, setting off a thrilling and tragic romance.

"After all, I'm an asshole."

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 30m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Darkroom, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoHBO MaxYoutubeTV
The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959) 02

The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959)

TMDB ★ 8.0

Young Antoine Doinel deals with neglect and a constant fight against authority.

"You know what I feel like? A criminal, I feel like a criminal."

Directed by François Truffaut · 1h 39m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd NetflixAmazon Prime VideoYoutubeTV
Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) (1962) 03

Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) (1962)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Truffaut's love triangle set in pre-First World War Europe, about two friends and the woman they both love.

"When you love two people at the same time, choose the second. Because if you really loved the first one, you wouldn't have fallen for the second."

Directed by François Truffaut · 1h 46m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd NetflixAmazon Prime Video
Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live) (1962) 04

Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live) (1962)

TMDB ★ 7.7

Jean-Luc Godard's story of Nana, a woman who becomes a prostitute after leaving her husband.

"My God, why have you forsaken me?"

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 24m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoYoutubeTV
Contempt (Le Mépris) (1963) 05

Contempt (Le Mépris) (1963)

TMDB ★ 7.0

Godard explores the failing marriage of Paul and Camille against the backdrop of the film industry.

"I don't expect anything. I'm here."

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 43m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, BFI Player Amazon Channel

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime Video
Band of Outsiders (Bande à Part) (1964) 06

Band of Outsiders (Bande à Part) (1964)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Three young people plan a robbery in Godard's stylish, playful take on the crime genre.

"The days trickle by like water in a sieve."

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 37m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Darkroom

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoYoutubeTV
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) (1964) 07

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) (1964)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 97% Metacritic 86

This musical drama tells the bittersweet love story of Geneviève and Guy.

"People only die of love in the movies."

Directed by Jacques Demy · 1h 33m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 5 Oscars6 wins & 7 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd NetflixAmazon Prime VideoHBO Max
Pierrot the Fool (Pierrot le Fou) (1965) 08

Pierrot the Fool (Pierrot le Fou) (1965)

TMDB ★ 7.3

Godard follows Ferdinand and Marianne on a surreal and destructive road trip across France.

"What if we tried to be happy, just for an hour?"

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 50m

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd YoutubeTV
Alphaville (1965) 09

Alphaville (1965)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A secret agent infiltrates a dystopian city run by an all-powerful, emotionless computer.

"No one has ever lived in the past, and no one will ever live in the future. The present is the form of all life."

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 39m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, BFI Player Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime Video
Masculine Feminine (Masculin Féminin) (1966) 10

Masculine Feminine (Masculin Féminin) (1966)

TMDB ★ 7.2

Godard follows the relationship between a young couple in 1960s Paris.

"I think the best thing is to be young. I'm glad I'm not old."

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 45m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoHBO Max
Claire's Knee (Le Genou de Claire) (1970) 11

Claire's Knee (Le Genou de Claire) (1970)

TMDB ★ 7.3

Eric Rohmer's film, part of his 'Six Moral Tales' series, about a man tempted by a teenage girl's knee on a summer holiday.

"I am free, I do what I want, and that's why I want you."

Directed by Éric Rohmer · 1h 45m

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime Video
Shoot the Piano Player (Tirez sur le Pianiste) (1960) 12

Shoot the Piano Player (Tirez sur le Pianiste) (1960)

TMDB ★ 7.2

Truffaut follows a pianist who becomes entangled in his brothers' criminal troubles.

"There are two kinds of people in the world, those who are always on time and those who are never on time."

Directed by François Truffaut · 1h 25m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, Darkroom, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime Video
Two or Three Things I Know About Her (2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle) (1967) 13

Two or Three Things I Know About Her (2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle) (1967)

TMDB ★ 6.2

Jean-Luc Godard explores a day in the life of a Parisian housewife who works as a part-time prostitute.

"Paris is getting bigger and bigger and there's nothing we can do about it."

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard · 1h 27m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoHBO Max
The Collector (La Collectioneusse) (1967) 14

The Collector (La Collectioneusse) (1967)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Eric Rohmer's 1967 film follows a summer of flirtation, boredom and games at a seaside villa.

"One cannot always be a revolutionary, one must also cultivate one's garden."

Directed by Éric Rohmer · 1h 26m

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime Video
The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort) (1967) 15

The Young Girls of Rochefort (Les Demoiselles de Rochefort) (1967)

TMDB ★ 7.7

Jacques Demy's romantic musical about two sisters dreaming of love and escape from their small town.

"We must look for love wherever it is."

Directed by Jacques Demy · 2h 06m · Rated G

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoNetflix
My Night at Maud’s (Ma nuit chez Maud) (1969) 16

My Night at Maud’s (Ma nuit chez Maud) (1969)

TMDB ★ 7.6

Eric Rohmer's film about a devout Catholic whose evening with a charming divorcee tests his convictions.

"I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of Him."

Directed by Éric Rohmer · 1h 50m

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoHBO Max
Cleo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) (1962) 17

Cleo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) (1962)

TMDB ★ 7.7

Agnes Varda follows a young singer in Paris as she waits for the results of a medical test and reflects on her life.

"All this talk about death... It's like a bad film."

Directed by Agnès Varda · 1h 30m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoNetflix
La Dolce Vita (1960) 18

La Dolce Vita (1960)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A tabloid journalist drifts through Rome's high society, chasing a happiness he never quite reaches.

"Life is full of surprises."

Directed by Federico Fellini · 2h 54m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime Video
The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeri) (1966) 19

The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeri) (1966)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 99% Metacritic 96

Gillo Pontecorvo's docudrama of the Algerian struggle for independence from French rule.

"It's hard to start a revolution. Even harder to continue it. And hardest of all to win it."

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo · 2h 02m · Rated NR

Nominated for 3 Oscars9 wins & 8 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoHBO MaxYoutubeTV
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) 20

Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)

TMDB ★ 7.7

Alain Resnais's drama about a French actress and a Japanese architect who share a brief, intense affair in Hiroshima.

"You saw nothing in Hiroshima. Nothing."

Directed by Alain Resnais · 1h 32m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Darkroom · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd Amazon Prime VideoHBO MaxYoutubeTV

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

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Vlad Zakh

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.