<human>:  Why did the French New Wave directors use so many close-ups?
<bot>: The French New Wave directors used close-ups to emphasize the emotional state of the characters. The close-ups were meant to be realistic depictions of the characters' emotions. In the case of Jean-Luc Godard's films, he used the close-ups to make the characters look like they were in a state of extreme emotion. For example, in Breathless, the main character, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo, is in a state of extreme emotion when he first meets the girl played by Jean Seberg.