'' Nouvelle Vague '' ( English : '' New Wave '' ) is a 1990 French film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard . It follows the story of hitchiker Lennox ( Alain Delon ) credited as " Lui " ( " '' Him '' " ) , taken in by a wealthy industrialist , Elena Torlato-Favrini or " Elle " ( " '' Her '' " ) , played by Domiziana Giordano . The film was entered into the 1990 Cannes Film Festival . It has ( as of 2019 ) never been released on any home video format in North America , but the audio was issued as a 2CD set by ECM . La Contessa Elena Torlato-Favrini ( her last name taken from '' The Barefoot Contessa '' ) is a wealthy Italian industrialist living in a sprawling estate near Lake Geneva , Switzerland . She is attended by Jules the Gardener , his wife Yvonne , their daughter Cécile , the chauffeur Laurent , and the mysterious Della La Rue ( or " Della Street , " a reference to Erle Stanley Gardner 's Perry Mason stories ) . At the film 's opening , Elena goes for a drive by herself and encounters Roger Lennox ( his last name taken from '' The Long Goodbye '' ) , an apparent drifter . Elena 's trajectory is brought to an abrupt halt as she stops to help Roger , who has evidently been forced off the road by a truck ( or is it the nearby tree ? ) and is severely incapacitated . Roger offers Elena his hand , and Elena accepts his offer ( the " miracle of empty hands , " borrowed from '' Diary of a Country Priest '' ) . The series of exchanges constituting their relationship begins
1990 Cannes Film Festival
1990 Cannes Film Festival
Nouvelle Vague (film)