On its face, Nouvelle Vague couldn’t be any more different than anything Richard Linklater has ever made. The movie, which hit select theaters a few weeks back and debuts on Netflix today, is black and white, primarily in French (a language Linklater doesn’t speak) and isn’t even shot in a widescreen aspect ratio. But the film is still a hangout movie through and through.

Nouvelle Vague follows the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 classic film Breathless, a movie that signaled the triumph of French cinema’s New Wave and a fundamental shift in filmmaking from Europe to Hollywood and beyond. But at its core Linklater’s film is about a group of coworkers enjoying each other’s company and hanging out while trying to fulfill their director’s often frustrating demands.

I spoke with Linklater about making Nouvelle Vague and he says that, despite all of the stylistic differences from his previous beloved works like Dazed and Confused, Slacker, and Everybody Wants Some!, he couldn’t help but make another hangout movie.

“It's so funny from my perspective, I try to push myself to do different things,” Linklater says. “I couldn't be doing something more different. (Nouvelle Vague is) in French, it's black and white, the aspect ratios I haven't shot in before. But you're stuck with yourself. I go back and I make a French hangout movie! I wanted to feel like you time-traveled back to ‘59. That’s the vibe of the movie.”

Linklater says that the French New Wave has been an inspiration throughout his career. “The first film I made that anyone wanted to see was Slacker,” he says. “I made that very much like a French New Wave film. I didn't have a traditional script and shot it very unconventionally. I had trouble like Godard in (Breathless). He had kind of trouble explaining what the film means to everybody. I was in that position.

“It was very personal to me, capturing all the exhilaration of making a first film with all the volatility in the air (and) insecurity. If you're going to do something different, it's okay to do it differently, even if it does push the boundaries of everyone around you.”

Guillaume Marbeck, who plays Breathless director Jean-Luc Godard in Nouvelle Vague, says the movie is a good primer for anyone unfamiliar with New Wave Cinema. “I think it's definitely an entry point for discovering the New Wave and also maybe artistic films or more art house movies,” Marbeck says. “And I think it's really a joyful hanging out movie with people making their first film. I think it's a great entry point on how you free yourself and make your stuff your own. (The movie) is not just about discovering the New Wave.”

For her part, Zoey Deutch, who plays American actress Jean Seberg, used her experience as one of the few Americans on set to tap into Seberg’s experience making Breathless. “The language barrier was very helpful for me,” Deutch says. “But the actual energy of our set was very different obviously from her experience. I couldn't have been supported more. I was the least skeptical actress in the world making this movie. And (when it came to Godard’s style of filmmaking) Jean (was) definitely the skeptic in Nouvelle Vague.”

Nouvelle Vague marks the first movie for Aubry Dullin, who plays Seberg’s on-screen costar Jean-Paul Belmondo. The actor says that working with Linklater was an educational experience. “I've learned so much because of the way (Linklater) works,” he says. “It's new for me. I hadn't worked like that before Richard, and so I think he helped me for the rest of my career. When you arrive on the shooting day, you just know what you have to do. And so you don't have to be stressed, you just have to follow everyone and just have fun.”

Nouvelle Vague is streaming now on Netflix.