Women's Tales II

 

Le donne della Vucciria (Hiam Abbass) revolves around a party in the middle of a town square in Palermo, Sicily in Italy where Lubna Azabal sings and dances to music with many in the town including an old couple who create puppets watch. It is a short that is just full of beauty and liveliness where Abbass keeps things straightforward in the direction. Even as she focuses on the party itself with women wearing these colorful dresses with socks that also have a sense of style.



Spark & Light (So Yong Kim) is about a young woman played by Riley Keough whose car breaks down somewhere in Iceland as she worries about her mother’s health. The 11-minute short that is shot on location in Iceland has Keough’s character trying to get a signal or some sign that leads her to a home where some strange surreal moments that also involves clothes come into play. Even as it play into her worries and such as it is a gorgeous short that features a strong performance from Keough.



Somebody (Miranda July) revolves around a group of people communicating with each other through an app that July has created as a way to connect with one another. It is a short that is offbeat in the style that July is known for as she appears in the film as a woman at a restaurant reading a menu instead of playing herself. Yet, it is a short that has a lot of heart but also things that are off the wall while using the clothes to help play into this sense of quirkiness.



De Djess (Alice Rohrwacher) revolves around a fashion show hosted by nuns who found dresses on a beach wrapped in plastic as one of the dresses comes to life wanting to be worn by a young maid only for a divaesque model wanting to wear it. It is definitely one of the best shorts of the series in its approach to surrealism and humor where the models who wear these dresses are prey to the paparazzi while the main model played by Alba Rohwacher while Yanet Mojica plays the young maid who is in love with this dress as the dress chooses her. It is definitely a tremendous short worth watching as it showcases the brilliance of Alice Rohrwacher.



Les 3 boutons (Agnes Varda) has a young woman who receives a package where it is revealed to be a big pink gown that is filled with wonders as she would walk around Paris trying to discover the world outside of her small farm life. Starring Jasmine Thiere as this young farm girl who talks to the camera about her life and her own desires. The film has her walking around Paris in a simple dress where she would lose three buttons yet there is this lore about losing three buttons which means that the young woman would get three wishes as there is a sense of beauty and wonderment that Varda would display as it is a tremendous gem from one of the great filmmakers that ever lived.



Related: Part I - Part III – Part II - Part IV – Part V

© thevoid99 2023

2020 Blind Spot Series: One Sings, the Other Doesn't

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, L’une chante, l’autre pas (One Sings, the Other Doesn’t) is the story of two women in the early 1960s who help each other as one aspires to be a singer while the other is a pregnant country girl as they would reunite a decade later during a demonstration as it relates to the women’s liberation movement. The film is a genre-bender that mixes elements of the musical with political drama as it explore the lives of two women who both experience a lot while maintaining their friendship. Starring Valerie Mairesse, Therese Liotard, Ali Raffi, Robert Dadies, and Jean-Pierre Pellegrin. L’une chante, l’autre pas is a rapturous and captivating film from Agnes Varda.

Told in the span of nearly 14 years, the film revolves around the friendship between two different women as they embark on different paths as well as endure different trials and tribulations into finding themselves as one of them becomes a singer while the other is a country girl with two kids who later runs a family planning clinic in Hyeres. It’s a film that play into the world of feminism as well as two women who bond through their different encounters of turmoil as well as trying to be themselves as well as wonder if they can be attached to a man in their lives. Agnes Varda’s screenplay is uniquely structured in the way it tells the friendship between these two different women who first meet in 1962 and then meet again a decade later as they would correspond each other through postcards and letters to maintain their friendship.

The first act is set in 1962 where Pauline (Valerie Mairesse) is a 17-year old student who sings at a choir as she goes into a photo shop where she sees a picture of a young woman she knows in Suzanne (Therese Liotard) who has two children and a third on the way as they’re all from an affair with the photo shop owner Jerome (Robert Dadies) where Suzanne wants an abortion. Tragedy occurs forcing Pauline and Suzanne to abruptly part ways until a decade later in the film’s second act where Pauline has called herself Pomme (apple in French) as she’s part of a feminist folk group and in a relationship with an Iranian named Darius (Ali Raffi) while Suzanne lives in Hyeres with her two children as she runs a family planning clinic. It is in the second act where the two meet again as they would correspond through letters as they’re both fascinated by their different lives with Pomme often traveling and going to Iran where she marries Darius and have a child yet things become troubling while Suzanne ponders her own desires to be with a man. It all play into Varda’s study of identity as a woman as well as what these women want as Varda also serves as the film’s narrator.

Varda’s direction is largely straightforward in terms of the compositions she creates yet there are elements of the film that do play into some semblance of style. Shot on various locations in France including parts of Paris and Hyeres as well as additional locations in Amsterdam and Iran. Varda creates a film that does rely on melodrama as it relates to the plight of women in their role in society starting in the 1960s as Pauline sings for a school choir while is hoping to make it in the world of music. Much of the first act that is shot in Paris play into Pauline and Suzanne trying to find themselves as Varda maintains an intimacy as well as show the different backgrounds of the two women with the latter from a middle-class environment and the latter from the poor country as she is treated with disdain by her parents upon her return to the country. Varda would open up the scope of the film more in its second act with some wide shots but also in its usage of music. Though it’s largely pre-recorded, there is a liveliness to the musical performances as well as the staging that includes a silent theatrical performance of women’s role in society.

With Pomme accompanied by the real feminist-folk band Orchidee as well as Francois Wertheimer playing a traveling hippie-musician with a son, much of the music is straightforward with a few theatrical elements courtesy of Varda’s contributions as a lyricist while Wertheimer would also create a somber string orchestral score for some of the dramatic moments in the film. The scenes in Amsterdam and Iran play into the sense of wonderment for Pomme as she is constantly traveling often telling Suzanne about her adventures as it does play into a woman who is from a conventional background wanting an unconventional life. That is balanced by Suzanne whose life is unconventional despite being a single mother of two kids wanting a somewhat conventional life despite her resistance of being in a relationship again. Varda’s usage of the wide shots do play into the wondrous world of Iran and Hyeres as it display Pomme’s growing disconnect in the former and Suzanne’s growing comfort in the latter. Still, Varda does find a way for these two friends to maintain their identity as women but also as people with goals in their lives and love for each other. Overall, Varda crafts a mesmerizing and touching film about the friendship of two women trying to find themselves in the span of 14 years.

Cinematographer Charlie Van Damme does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is showcases not just unique color moods into the some of the locations but also in tone as much of the first act showcase dark and grayish colors while the scenes in Iran, Amsterdam, and Hyeres are far more colorful with its natural approach to lighting as it’s a highlight of the film. Editor Joele Van Effenterre does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into drama including some montages that play into the corresponding letters. Art director/costume designer Frankie Diago does amazing work with the look of some of the stage sets and clothes for some of Pomme’s performances as well as the look of the places she and Suzanne go to with the more casual look of Suzanne that is in contrast to Pomme’s more hippie-like look. The sound work of Henri Morelle is fantastic for its natural approach to sound in the way music is presented live as well as the atmosphere in some of the film’s different locations.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Mona Mairesse and Francis Lemaire as Pauline’s parents, the trio of Isabelle Eduards, Dominique Ducros, and Rosalie Varda in their respective roles as the 3-year old, 13-year old, and teenage version of Suzanne’s daughter Marie, Francois Courbin, Frederic Boyot, and Laurent Plagne in their respective roles as the baby, adolescent, and teenage version of Suzanne’s son Mathieu, Francois Werthemier as a traveling hippie musician that Pomme and her band meets, Mathieu Demy as the traveling hippie’s son Zorro, the trio of Joelle Papineau, Micou Papineau, and Doudou Greffier as the band Orchidee who are part of Pomme’s group, and Jean-Pierre Pellegrin in a terrific performance as Dr. Pierre Aubanel whom Suzanne meets in the film’s third act as someone she isn’t sure about being in a relationship with since he is married.

Robert Dadies and Ali Raffi are superb in their respective roles as Jerome and Darius with the former being Suzanne’s married photographer/lover who is desperate to sell his photos while the latter is Pomme’s future Iranian husband whom she meets in Amsterdam as they fall in love and have a child only for him to be more traditionalist in Iran. Finally, there’s the duo of Valerie Mairesse and Therese Liotard in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Pauline/Pomme and Suzanne. Mairesse brings a liveliness as Pomme whenever she’s performing her music or acting in a play though she’s more timid early in the film as Pauline while displaying some restraint in her scenes set in Iran. Liotard is the more reserved of the two as she displays that air of grace and humility in a woman who struggled so much as she tries to make something of herself where she does find happiness. Mairesse and Liotard together have a radiance to their scenes together as they often bring the best in each other as they’re a major highlight of the film.

The 2019 Region 1/Region DVD/Blu-Ray release from the Criterion Collection presents in the film in a new 2K digital restoration supervised by Agnes Varda and cinematographer Charlie Van Damme from its 2015 restored edition in its 1:66:1 aspect ratio and mono French soundtrack (uncompressed in its Blu-Ray release) with new English subtitle translation. Among the special features in the DVD/Blu-Ray set include the film’s theatrical trailer, a making-of documentary, and two shorts films by Varda.

The making-of documentary entitled Women are Naturally Creative: Agnes Varda by Katja Raganelli is a 47-minute film that explores Varda during the production of L’une chante, l’autre pas on its final day of shooting with interviews with its lead actresses and Varda herself. Raganelli would talk with Varda about her views on filmmaking and what does she do but also her views on feminism and the film she makes. She admits that not all women likes her films as she’s fine with that while a lot of what she does play into the roles of women as well as breaking down stereotypes. The film also showcases a brief glimpse into her life outside of the world of film as she is a mother and wife to another filmmaker in Jacques Demy though the two never collaborate on their respective films since they both have different ideas of the films they want to make though both of them are supportive of one another. It’s a fascinating documentary that explores Varda’s approach to filmmaking as well as the kind of films she wants to make.

The 9-minute short Reponse de femmes is a film where Varda asks this question. What is a woman? The 1975 short film commissioned by the French TV channel Antenne 2 asked seven women filmmakers this question as Varda’s short have women answer the question in different ways. Some show themselves naked and pregnant, others just remain clothed, and they all bring different ideas. Some want to be mothers and some don’t. It’s a short that really offers so many ideas while there is also a shot of a group of men sitting and standing in disapproval to this growing feminist movement that was happening in the 1970s yet Varda makes it about the women as they prove that they don’t need a man.

The six-and-a-half minute short Plasir d’amour en Iran starring Valerie Mairesse and Ali Raffi that was made in 1976 and shot on location in Isfahan, Iran. Narrated by Therese Liotard, the film features an Iranian man and a French woman as they’re at a Persian palace and ancient drawings relating to love. It’s a simple yet ravishing short film that showcases two people falling in love and expressing their love through poetry in an exotic land.

The DVD/Blu-Ray set also feature two booklets as one booklet features excerpts from the film’s original press book that featured tidbits about the actors, Varda, the film, notes on the film with comments from the actors and Varda along with sheet music to some of the original songs created for the film. The booklet for the film features an essay by Varda written in 2016 for a screening of the film at that year’s Cannes Film Festival in its 2015 restoration as she discuss the film and what it aimed to do in the times as well as what hasn’t changed since its release back in 1977. The booklet also features an essay from film critic/historian Amy Taubin entitled Bodies and Selves. Taubin’s essay touches upon Varda’s contribution to the French New Wave and her continued independence in doing things her own way and how the feminist movement of the 1970s inspired her to make this film. Even as the scene set in an abortion trial where Pomme and Suzanne reunite is based on a real-life event while Taubin talks about the film and what the characters go through as well as Varda’s approach to the story as it mixes elements of reality with this fictional narrative as it’s a wonderful essay by Taubin.

L’une chante, l’autre pas is a tremendous film by Agnes Varda that features sensational leading performances from Valerie Mairesse and Therese Liotard. Along with its gorgeous visuals, themes of gender identity, and a whimsical music soundtrack. The film is definitely one of Varda’s finest films as well as a compelling and thoughtful study of womanhood and their rights to be something more. In the end, L’une chante, l’autre pas is a spectacular film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - La Pointe Courte - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2020

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache

Directed and edited by Pamela B. Green and written by Green and Joan Simon with narration by Jodie Foster, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache is a film about the life and career of one of cinema’s early pioneers who was also considered to be one of the first real auteurs who also owned and ran her own studio. The film showcases the woman’s career as well as the films she created as well as why she was often overlooked during her career and the re-discovery of her work. The result is an engrossing and wondrous film from Pamela B. Green.

In 1895, a secretary for engineer/industrialist Leon Gaumont attended a private screening of a film entitled Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory by Auguste and Louis Lumiere. The secretary that is Alice Guy saw a new medium as from 1896 to 1920, she made hundreds of films that would not just pioneer cinema as an art form but also would create techniques and ideas that would be the basis of cinema itself. Like the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Melies, and Edwin Porter, they would create short films that would showcase cinema’s tool in the world of storytelling yet it would be Guy that would take the format much further prompting others including Melies to step up their game. In 1907, Guy married Englishman Herbert Blache as he would be Gaumont’s production manager in the U.S. until 1910 when she and Blache formed the Solax Company to make their own films as she would use the slogan “be natural” to those who worked at the studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

One of Guy-Blache’s innovations in filmmaking was the creation of the Gaumont Chronophone system that allowed her actors to lip-sync to pre-recorded music and use the music to sync up to the film footage as it was the early ideas of sound heard in film. Guy was also ambitious as she made a 25-part series of shorts relating to Jesus Christ as it was quite bold for its time. Another form of innovation that she did during her time in New Jersey was make a film with an entirely black cast in A Fool and His Money as it was made because white actors didn’t want to work with black actors prompting Guy-Blache to just hire an all-black cast regardless of prejudice. She also made films that had gender roles reversed as well as tackle subject matters that not many were willing to go into.

Then came World War I as business started to hurt Guy-Blache’s studio but also this emergence of businessmen wanting to take over the world of cinema including Thomas Edison prompting many studios to move to California rather than work with Edison who wanted to have a lot of control on the world of film through his own equipment and such. Herbert Blache would also move to California due to his affairs with other women leading to the two to divorce in 1922 as she returned to France with their children never making films again. Especially as she wouldn’t receive the proper credit for her work with Gaumont becoming more of a businessman in running his own studio as things would get tougher during the Great Depression and World War II though Gaumont would try to rectify his faults in giving her proper credit despite people around him telling him not to.

The documentary also has Pamela B. Green who also serves as the film’s editor not just trying to find out more about Guy-Blache and her films but also asking many other filmmakers, historians, actors, and such including Julie Taymor, Peter Bogdanovich, Evan Rachel Wood, Ava Duvernay, Peter Farrelly, Andy Samberg, Julie Delpy, Lake Bell, Gillian Armstrong, cinematographer John Bailey, and many others about Guy-Blache as many of them admit to never having heard of her. There is also the story of Green not just trying to find information about her films and her life but also meeting those who knew someone who knew Guy-Blache including descendants of Guy-Blache such as her great-great granddaughter as well as descendants of Leon Gaumont as there’s a scene where the descendants of Guy-Blache and Gaumont would go to various locations where Guy-Blache made some of her films. Much of Green’s direction and editing is straightforward with a few montages of film archivists finding some of Guy-Blache’s work while also going into the difficulty of restoring her work.

The film also features archival interviews from Guy-Blache from the late 1950s and early 1960s with narration by Jodie Foster who reads some of Guy-Blache’s comments and letters with a rare audio interview between Guy-Blache and a film historian in Brussels who wonders why she isn’t credited for her work. Notably as historians dating back to the 1940s would often omit her as some claim there was a lot of resentment towards her because she was a woman as some even question the validity of her claims in the mid-1970s after she had died in 1968. It would be Guy-Blache’s daughter Simone and other historians that would keep Guy-Blache’s name alive while Green would also talk to relatives who found old letters, photos, and notebooks that lead to many clues that show proof of Guy-Blache’s claims. Upon discovering the shorts of Guy-Blache, cinematographer John Bailey and others at the Academy Arts and Science would try to recreate one of her shorts with comedy actors Chris Kattan and Horatio Sanz with the same camera that Guy-Blache used.

Sound editors Casey Langfelder and Daniel Saxlid, along with sound designers Marcello Dubaz and Kent Sparling, do superb work in providing many of the audio archives from Guy-Blache’s interview with the Belgian film historian that his grandson had kept all of these years while also capturing all of the people who are interviewed for the film as they all talk about discovering Guy-Blache and her importance in film history. The film’s music by Peter G. Adams is terrific for its mixture of low-key electronic music and ambient pieces as it play into the search for Guy-Blache’s films and everything about her. Even as Green showcases old photos of the studio she created in New Jersey as well as visual recreation of the studio itself and where filming took place in the studio.

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache is a phenomenal film from Pamela B. Green. It’s a film that anyone interested in film history or film itself must see as it not only does some correcting into some of the real stories about cinema’s birth but also in showcasing one of its pioneers and her innovative work. Especially as it showcases the woman’s work and her brief yet illustrious career that proved how influential she was. In the end, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache is a sensational film from Pamela B. Green.

Related: The Short Films of Alice Guy-Blache Vol. 1

© thevoid99 2020

2019 Blind Spot Series: The Gleaners & I

(In Memory of Agnes Varda (1928-2019))

Written, directed, narrated, co-shot, and co-edited by Agnes Varda, Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (The Gleaners & I) is the story of the life of gleaners who live outside the confines of traditional and modern society in France. The film follows Varda as she meets these individuals who don’t live by the rules of society while trying to survive in an increasingly modern world. The result is one of the engrossing and rapturous films about a group of people trying to keep the act gleaning alive before the turn of the millennium.

Shot from 1999 to May of 2000, the film has Agnes Varda explore the lives of gleaners who come to gardens, vineyards, and such after harvest gathering food that hadn’t been picked up. It’s a film that explore the idea of gleaning, salvaging, dumpster-diving, and such to gather food and material that is neglected and be of use to a world where waste is prevalent. The act of gleaning was something that was common during the 18th and 19th century where people would be able to gather leftovers that hadn’t been picked from gardens following the harvest period so that food would be salvaged as Varda would cite various paintings as a way of life that is now considered outdated before the turn of the millennium. During the course of the film as Varda would travel through France in various locations, she discovered that it’s not just the poor, outcasts, and foreigners that would continue to glean but also regular people and a few of the rich where some who own crops and gardens would allow people to take whatever is left for nothing.

Varda and her fellow cinematographers in Didier Doussin, Stephane Krausz, Didier Rouget, and Pascal Sautelet would shoot the film entirely on small hand-held digital cameras where the look had a crudeness yet it captures a realism that allow Varda to gather so much of what she could find in the spur of the moment. Notably as she would become a gleaner herself by not just picking up leftover food from greenhouses, crops, and gardens but also in objects she would find and salvage. At the same time, Varda would film herself where she would take great close-ups in her hands knowing that she is reaching old age but accepts it as if it’s an old friend. Varda’s direction has this looseness in the way she interviews various people including a chef, a wine owner, and a couple of lawyers who talk about the law of gleaning and the changes its being made before the arrival of the 21st Century.

Varda would talk to people who are keeping the art of gleaning alive despite the law as it also play into the world of poverty, economic and social imbalance, neglect, and greed. Varda would take a break from the main narrative to go into a case of a group of young homeless kids vandalizing a supermarket as she would get both sides of the story from the supermarket owner and the kids themselves with an attorney explaining what is to happen. There is also the story of a teacher named Alain who lives in a home with various immigrants from Africa where half of the people in the building are illiterate yet he teaches them how to read but is also someone who gleans because he can’t afford to buy food at a grocery store and he would often find food that is still in good condition.

With editors Jean-Baptiste Morin and Laurent Pineau, Varda would also play into a bit of style for some of the scenes on the road as she gaze fondly into big trucks where they would be some jump-cuts and montages including one glorious sequence of her filming her camera lens cap doing a little jazz dance. The sound work of Emmanuel Soland is superb in capturing the natural elements of the locations in how a piece of food would sound like as well as this threat of the modern world from stopping the ideas of gleaning. Music composers Isabelle Olivier and Joanna Bruzdowicz provide this incredible mix of music ranging from soothing electronic music, classical-based pieces, jazz, and some hip-hop as it play into the struggles of the gleaners but also their need to survive without compromise.

Les glaneurs et la glaneuse is a tremendous film from Agnes Varda. It’s a documentary film that explores the world of gleaning and people who are trying to keep it alive in an increasingly modern world. It’s a film that doesn’t exactly play by the rules of the documentary but also give voice to those who are often unable to say something and show a process that could still happen in times that are troubling. In the end, Les glaneurs et la glaneuse is a spectacular film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - La Pointe Courte - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2019

Le Bonheur

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, Le Bonheur (Happiness) is the story of a married man and father who finds himself falling for a young postal worker. The film is an exploration into the world of happiness in marriage but also the concept of fidelity in a world that is often demanding. Starring Jean-Claude Druout, Claire Druout, and Marie-Francoise Boyer. Le Bonheur is an exquisitely touching and ravishing film from Agnes Varda.

The film is a simple story of a married family man who falls for a young postal worker where he tries to balance his life without any compromise as well as express his love for two women. It’s a film that plays into a man who doesn’t want to destroy his marriage nor does he want to be miserable as it’s just about him being happy. Even as his lover understands the situation as she knows when to stay away and not intrude on his family life though there’s moments in social gatherings where the two women collide but only the wife has no idea what is going on. Agnes Varda’s screenplay doesn’t have much of a plot as it’s more about the study of a carpenter who is in love with two women where he doesn’t try to hide it from anything or anyone. At the same time, he is just going for the pursuit of happiness without all of these moral implications nor any judgment while being good towards the people in his family.

Varda’s direction is very intoxicating not just for the way she captures the life of a small-town carpenter with two young kids and a beautiful wife but also in how he finds an equal amount of happiness with this young postal worker who had moved into town. While there is an intimacy to the direction as well as some stylish close-ups, Varda does play off the film’s simplistic tone while creating some gorgeous imagery of Francois (Jean-Claude Druout) and Therese (Claire Druout) walking around the country and near the ponds and rivers. It plays into this serenity into what Francois wants as his encounter with Emilie (Marie-Francoise Boyer) during a call to a client would raise questions into what he wants.

While the story is driven by Francois and his pursuits, Varda does make sure the women have something to say where it has an air of feminism that isn’t overt nor under-written. Even as it plays to events near the final twenty-five minutes of the film as it relates to what Francois wants and how someone like a woman can be helpful to him in a time of need. Overall, Varda creates a very touching and mesmerizing film about a man who is in love with two women.

Cinematographers Jean Rabier and Claude Beausoleil do incredible work with the film‘s very colorful and evocative cinematography to capture the beauty of the countryside in its naturalistic look to the vibrant colors that are in display for many of the places in the small town. Editor Janine Verneau does fantastic work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to play into its drama and romance. Production designer Hubert Monloup does nice work with the set pieces from the home that Francois and Therese lives in to the apartment that Emilie would live in with the shelves that Francois built for her.

Costume designer Claude Francois does excellent work with the costumes as it plays to the look of the town and the countryside in its mid-60s look. The sound work of Louis Hochet is terrific for its natural approach to sound to play into the atmosphere of the parties and gathering that is going on. The film’s music by Jean-Michel Defaye is wonderful for its serene and somber orchestral score that plays into the sense of joy while the soundtrack would feature music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to help play into that sense of joy.

The film’s brilliant cast include appearances from Olivier and Sandrine Druout as Francois and Therese’s children. Marie-Francoise Boyer is amazing as Emilie as a young woman who just moved into town as she had met Francois in another town where the two fall for each other while knowing when to not intrude in his family life. Claire Druout is superb as Therese as a kind housewife who makes dresses for a living as she ponders the source of her husband’s sudden happy persona. Finally, there’s Jean-Claude Druout in an excellent performance as Francois as a carpenter with a family who falls for Emilie as he also loves his wife where he tries to balance both relationships and ponder if he could have it all.

Le Bonheur is a remarkable film from Agnes Varda. With a great cast, beautiful images, and a compelling story, it’s a film that doesn’t play into any rules of what love can be nor is it willing to make any judgment on the decisions of one man. In the end, Le Bonheur is a phenomenal film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - La Pointe Courte - Cleo from 5 to 7 - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2015

Cleo from 5 to 7

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, Cleo de 5 a 7 (Cleo from 5 to 7) is the story of a singer who spends nearly two hours awaiting the results of a medical test to see if she has cancer as she ponders her own life and what is ahead. The film is a mixture of melodrama that is mixed in with an air of realism as it is told in real time of a woman dealing with the fate of her life. Starring Corrine Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dorothee Blank, Michel Legrand, and Jose-Luis de Villalonga. Cleo de 5 a 7 is an astonishingly rich film from Agnes Varda.

Set between five and seven in the evening, the film revolves around a singer who is waiting the results of a medical test as she fears for her life and what is ahead if she does have cancer. It’s a film that plays into a woman going into a journey of self-discovery while questioning everything where she would walk around the street of Paris in the course of nearly two hours. The film’s screenplay doesn’t flesh out the plot as it favors more about the anguish Cleo (Corrine Marchand) endures in the course of two hours though the script does have a structure of sorts.

Especially as it showcases Cleo’s own anguish where she tries to distract herself from reality by going shopping with her maid Angele (Dominique Davray), rehearsing with her band, hanging out with friends, or meeting a sailor named Antoine (Antoine Bourseiller). While Cleo would cope with the impending news, there would be elements of reality as it relates to the war in Algeria, the growing feminist movement in France, and other events that Cleo doesn’t want to hear about. It would add to the growing despair in her life where the themes of existentialism become very prominent in the course of the film as meeting Antoine very late into would raise these questions about life.

Agnes Varda’s direction is definitely mesmerizing for the way she captures the life of a woman in nearly two hours. Shot entirely on location in Paris, Varda maintains an intimacy into much of the direction while she does use some wide shots to capture the many streets that goes in Paris while not shooting around its many landmarks. Instead, Varda just goes for something that is very simple while creating something that feels like a moment in time which plays into the harsh realities that is happening around Cleo such as a sequence where she and Angele are in a taxi driven by a woman who is listening to the news about Algeria and Edith Piaf’s surgery just a year before she would pass. The specter of death would also loom throughout the film as it begins with Cleo visiting a fortune teller who would reveal exactly what she might go through.

Varda’s direction would also play into that mixture of melodrama and dramatic realism for a few scenes such as a rehearsal between Cleo and musicians who write songs for her as she copes with the content of the music. Varda’s approach to close-ups and medium shots would maintain that sense of intimacy as well as the anguish that looms in Cleo. Even when she encounters things in the streets of Paris like protests, a man eating live frogs, and a man killed in the streets of Paris. By the time the film would reach its climax where Cleo meets Antoine at a park and they ride the bus towards the hospital for the impending news. The film definitely takes on a tone that is a bit more serious but also has this momentum that is building for the fate that Cleo faces as well as the fact that if it is bad. There is still time to make things right in whatever problems she has. Overall, Varda creates an entrancing and somber film about a woman facing the idea of death in the span of two hours.

Cinematographer Jean Rabier, Alain Levent, and Paul Bonis do amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography in not just capturing the city of Paris during the summer in the parks and in the streets but also in maintaining a look that feels very real for many of its exterior scenes along with a few scenes in the interior scenes. Editors Janine Verneau and Pascale Laverriere do brilliant work with the editing with its emphasis on jump-cuts to play into not just the energy of Paris but also that sense of tension that looms in Cleo. Art director Bernard Evein does nice work with the look of Cleo’s apartment which is spacious and filled with posh things but also play into some of the emptiness that is in her life.

Costume designer Alyette Samazeuilh does excellent work with the clothes that Cleo wears that play into her posh lifestyle as well as the hats she would wear and buy. The sound work of Julien Coutelier and Jean Labussiere do terrific work with the sound to capture many of the naturalistic moments in the locations as well as the radio reports that play into the situations that is happening in France. The film’s music by Michel Legrand is fantastic for its mixture of piano-based music with some somber orchestral flourishes along with the songs that Cleo would sing in rehearsal and in a scene where she hears herself on the radio to her disgust.

The film’s superb cast includes notable appearances from filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, Eddie Constantine, Jean-Claude Brialy, and Anna Karina as actors in a silent film Cleo watches, Michel Legrand and Serge Korber as Cleo’s songwriters and musicians in her band, Dorothee Blank as Cleo’s model friend Dorothee, Raymond Cauchetier as Dorothee’s friend Raoul, Dominique Davray as Cleo’s maid Angele, and Jose Luis de Vilallonga as Cleo’s lover Jose who is dismissive about her illness. Antoine Bourseiller is excellent as the sailor Antoine whom Cleo meets late in the film at the park as he provides some unique insights about the world and what he is about to go into which would play into her own development. Finally, there’s Corrine Marchand in a remarkable performance as the titular character as this singer who deals with the idea that she will die through a horrible disease as she ponders her own existence as it’s just this ravishing yet devastating performance which is the highlight of the film.

Cleo de 5 a 7 is a magnificent film from Agnes Varda that features a great performance from Corrine Marchand. The film isn’t just a intense look into the life of a woman in the span of two hours but also a compelling film that explores death, reality, and life itself. It’s also one of the most important films to emerge in the French New Wave that plays into not just the sense of reality of a woman’s situation but also the environment she was in during one of the country’s most turbulent eras. In the end, Cleo de 5 a 7 is an incredible film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - La Pointe Courte - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2015

The World of Jacques Demy

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, L’univers de Jacques Demy (The World of Jacques Demy) is a documentary in which Varda pays tribute to her late husband through the films he made as well as his life. Featuring interviews with those that worked with him, the film is a look into one French cinema’s finest filmmakers. The result is a lively and touching portrait of one of the great filmmakers that ever lived.

Among the filmmakers who emerged during the era of the French New Wave, Jacques Demy was someone who didn’t fit in with that movement due to his love for American musicals and fantasy as he would cultivate a career that is considered one of the finest in cinema. Created in the span of two years, Agnes Varda creates not just a solemn tribute to her husband but would also interview some of his collaborators, fans of his work, and the actors that worked with him. Even as Varda goes into detail about his own life with the aid of their children, her sister-in-law, and old friends as well as the places he grew up in as the town would also pay tribute to the filmmaker.

Through various film clips and rare behind-the-scenes footage which would feature those anyone wouldn’t expect in a Demy film set like Jim Morrison at the set of Donkey Skin who would give Delphine Seyrig’s son his autograph. The actors such as Michel Piccoli, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Dominique Sanda, Anouk Aimee, Jacques Perrin, Nino Castelnuovo talk about their experiences working with Demy and his films. Much of it show that they all have pleasant experiences with him where Deneuve recalled doing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as the first time she felt she was working with a real filmmaker. Many of his films are covered including the ones that weren’t successful like Lady Oscar and Parking where clips of interviews by Demy talk about the way things are in the industry where not all of his films are successful.

The film also showcases Demy’s brief flirtation in Hollywood when he was making Model Shop as a sequel to Lola with Anouk Aimee where the original male lead was supposed to be an up-and-coming actor named Harrison Ford who is also interviewed where he talks about how much Demy and one of the film’s producer wanted him to be in the film. Instead, studios chose Gary Lockwood of 2001: A Space Odyssey for the role which Demy wasn’t happy with though the resulting film was something Demy thought was good but not great. With the aid of cinematographers Stephane Krausz, Peter Pilafian, and Georges Strouve, along with editor Marie-Josee Audiard and the sound work of Thierry Ferreux and Jean-Luc Rault-Cheynet, Varda chose a different approach to narrative where she goes for a more non-linear look into Demy’s life and work.

Adding to the film’s whimsical tone are the music pieces by Michel Colombier and Michel Legrand who are both featured in the film as they talk about Demy’s approach to music. Much of the music that appears in the film is from Demy’s films as it adds to his love for music and what it means to him. Even as some fans of his films including some ordinary people know some of the songs by heart as the actors in those films would sing bits of these songs. It adds to the power of Demy’s influence and the impact he made in the world of films.

L’univers de Jacques Demy is a phenomenal film from Agnes Varda. It’s not just one of Varda’s finest documentaries but also a touching and exhilarating tribute to her late husband in Jacques Demy. Notably as it’s a film that displays some unique surprises about Demy and his work and how much he means to audiences all over the world. In the end, L’univers de Jacques Demy is a sensational film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - La Pointe Courte - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2015

La Pointe Courte

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, La Pointe Courte is the story of a couple dealing with unhappiness as they try to salvage the relationship in a small fishing town. The film is a study of marriage and its downside as it is told through the life of a couple as well as various locals in the small fishing town. Starring Philippe Noiret and Silvia Monfort. La Pointe Courte is an enchanting yet hypnotic film from Agnes Varda.

While the film has a narrative that plays into the life of an estranged couple trying to save their marriage by spending a day at the hometown of husband. It’s a film that is more about a place near the Mediterranean in France known as La Pointe Courte and the people that live in this location. While Agnes Varda creates two very different stories within this small town in the span of an entire day as it relates to this estranged couple as well as the people in this town who are living their lives in squalor as they try to make a living. It’s a film that doesn’t have a conventional script though Varda would credit the people in the town as co-writers and co-directors in these different stories that involve all sorts of people ranging from fishermen, a young man courting a 16-year old girl, and a family coping with death.

Varda’s direction is definitely mesmerizing for the way she tells the story as it is infused with a lot of style. Not just in terms of her approach to close-ups and wide shots but also in maintaining something that feels real. Using that approach of cinema verite, Varda captures something that feels very ordinary such as what fishermen do in this small town despite its poor conditions as well as how they manage to find joy later in the day. Varda’s compositions towards the relationship of the couple is quite stylish with its compositions that include a few crane-inspired shots and some tracking shots as well. It plays into something that feels more like traditional cinema as opposed to the more stark yet gritty realism that Varda would show with the real people in the film. Yet Varda manages to find a balance between the two as it plays to a location that is removed from conventional society. Overall, Varda creates an engaging yet riveting film about various people living or vacationing at a small fishing town near the Mediterranean.

Cinematographers Paul Soulignac and Louis Stein do amazing work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to capture not just the gritty realism of the locations and its sense of despair but also into some of the beauty of its parties and beaches. Editor Alain Resnais does excellent work with the editing with its stylish approach to transitions including a transition wipe as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the drama. Sound editor Robert Lion does nice work with the sound to capture the sparseness of the quieter moments along with the raucous moments at the jousting sequence. The film’s music by Pierre Barbaud is amazing as it’s very exuberant and upbeat to play into some of its humor and party atmosphere. Finally, there’s the performances of Pierre Noiret and Silvia Monfort as they bring a sense of restrained yet hypnotic approach to their role as the married couple trying to save their marriage as well as cope with their surroundings.

La Pointe Courte is a phenomenal film from Agnes Varda. It’s a film that manages to mix conventional storytelling with eerie realism as it’s told with such style and poignancy as it is one of key prototypes for what would become the French New Wave. In the end, La Pointe Courte is a ravishing film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2015

Du cote de la cote

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, Du cote de la cote (Along the Coast) is a 24-minute travelogue film in which Agnes Varda documents life in the French Riviera in places like Nice and Cannes during the summer. The film is a look into the life in its beauty and various eccentricities as it’s narrated by Roger Coggio and Anne Olivier. The result is a majestic and enthralling short film from Agnes Varda.

Set in the summer, the film is a travelogue of sorts that explores the beauty that is the French Riviera where Agnes Varda through narrators reveal many of the landmarks and other oddities that makes the area so beloved. Shot on location in its many places including Nice, Monaco, and Cannes, the film showcases many of the things that goes on from activities on the beach as well as what tourists do in the Riviera. Much of it is told exactly what would happen if a tourist would go to the Riviera as some of the comments in the narration involve very odd comments about where some famous person, dead or alive, must’ve lived or died at.

Shot in gorgeous color by cinematographers Quinto Albicocco and Raymond Castel, Varda brings great attention to detail into the look of the locations and its beauty as the editing of Jasmine Chasney and Henri Colpi allows each image to be soaked in. Adding to the film’s beauty and humorous tone is Georges Delerue’s music which is full of lush string arrangements as it plays to the locales and some of its eccentricities.

Du cote de la cote is a gorgeous short film from Agnes Varda that definitely will make anyone want to visit the French Riviera. It’s a film that manages to be very engaging but also display a lot of humor that makes it more than just a simple travelogue. In the end, Du cote de la cote is a ravishing film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - La Pointe Courte - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2015

Diary of a Pregnant Woman

Written, directed, and narrated by Agnes Varda, Diary of a Pregnant Woman is a 17-minute short film set in a busy, working-class street of Paris as it chronicles the life of a pregnant woman. The film is a mixture of documentary and fantasy told in lively fashion by Varda as well as having the narrative sung in an offbeat way. The result is a fascinating short by Agnes Varda.

The film revolves around the life of a pregnant woman as she lives in the Latin Quarter of Paris as she is rarely seen on camera as she observes her surroundings. It’s a film that doesn’t play by any rules as writer/director Agnes Varda goes for something that mixes documentary footage to capture the ideas of what this pregnant woman is seeing as well as some sequences that play into a sense of fantasy as it relates to the woman who is having sex with her lover. Varda’s direction also displays some unique close-ups and images that describes the idea of what a woman is going through in her pregnancy as well as match other images as if they’re abstract in some ways. With the help of cinematographer Sacha Vierney for its black-and-white photography and the stylish editing of Janine Verneau, Varda maintains something that is comical but also compelling as she is also accompanied by the lively music score of Georges Delerue. Overall, Varda creates a very intriguing yet imaginative film about the life of a pregnant woman.

Diary of a Pregnant Woman is a riveting short film from Agnes Varda as it explores what ideas a woman might be thinking of her in pregnancy. It’s also a film that captures something that feels very real in its surroundings as it plays into a part of Paris that wasn’t seen very often in the late 1950s. In the end, Diary of a Pregnant Woman is an exquisitely rich film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Du cote de la cote - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - Vagabond - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2015

Vagabond

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/28/09.

One of the premier directors in France, the Belgium-born Agnes Varda is known for her feminist take on films either fictional or documentary. While she was part of the French New Wave often collaborating with husband Jacques Demy, she was part of another French film movement in the Rive Gauche (Left Bank Cinema) with Alain Renais in relations to left-wing cinema. Making films from the 1960s through the 1970s, Varda scored a major hit with one of her fictional features called Sans toit ni loi which is commonly known in English as Vagabond.

Written and directed by Agnes Varda, Sans toit ni loi tells the story of a woman found frozen in a ditch during a cold winter in the South of France. Yet moments before her death, she would encounter various people she would meet during her road trip. A film that is filled with Varda's commentary on women and social issues with elements of a road film. It is considered to be one of her essential films of her prolific career. Starring Sandrine Bonnaire. Sans toit ni loi is a provocative, entrancing film from Agnes Varda.

A cold day in a farm near the South of France when a farmer (Christophe Alcazar) finds a frozen body in a ditch as people wondered who she is. Her name is Mona Bergeron (Sandrine Bonnaire) as she is hitchhiking all over the South of France looking for work, shelter, or whatever she comes across to. She rides briefly with a trucker (Patrick Schmidt), gets a free sandwich from a young man (Patrick Sokol), meets a woman (Katy Champaud), and works briefly for a mechanic (Pierre Imbert). After hiding out at an old castle that belongs to a man that a maid named Yolande (Yolande Moreau) works for along with an old lady. Mona briefly lives in the castle with another man as they steal things from the castle. Yet, when the things she stole weren't worth anything except for some spoons as she continues to go on the road and find work wherever she can.

Finding shelter and work at the home of some goat farmers, she lives their briefly but doesn't work much as she leaves where she meets a rich woman on the road. The woman gives her a ride throughout the place as she is a professor (Macha Meril) who loves trees. The woman recalls meeting Mona, though never learning her name as the encounter had a profound effect on her. After dropping Mona off at the woods at an undisclosed location, Mona continues to move from place to place where she worked with a Tunisian vineyard worker (Yahiaoui Assouna) in pruning vines. Yet, a group of Moroccans refused to work with her as she was on the move again where she briefly lived with Yolande and her boyfriend Paulo (Joel Fosse). The encounter would have an effect with Yolande as Mona would drift more and more to places and troubles that would lead to her outcome.

The film plays as a mixture of narrative styles. Yet, it's all told from the perspective of people who would encounter this young woman who goes from place to place. While there's not much plot in the film. It's told in a style that is unique though lags a bit early on. Agnes Varda's storytelling approach through her script and unconventional direction does make this film a worthwhile experience. It moves back and forth where she lets the audience see what Mona is going through and then get a recollection from the people she encounters as they talk to an unseen interviewer.

The script follows the character of Mona in her encounters where the important ones involve a family of goat herders, a professor, a Tunisian vineyard worker, and a maid as she would have an impact on her life. At the same time, Varda's script follows Mona's struggle to survive as the boots she would wear would start to decay while her leather jacket has a hard time getting the zipper up. It's Varda's detail to attention in Mona's struggle that makes the film captivating while her direction is rooted in cinema verite with hand-held cameras capturing the drama. At the same time, she takes a documentary approach in getting smaller characters to talk as if they're being interviewed. It's a style that is truly fascinating while letting the audience knows what will happen but executes it with grace without being too stylish. Overall, Varda creates a film that is harrowing and harsh but also entrancing in its tone and realism.

Cinematographer Patrick Blossier brings excellent work to the photography in matching stark realism with colorful imagery of the cold, Southern French landscape with colors of grey and green. While the exteriors are filled with dark colors, some of the interiors in its rich, posh setting are brighter as Blossier's work is solid throughout. The editing by Agnes Varda and Patricia Mazuy is brilliant for its slow, methodical pacing and moving back and forth from the brief interviews of people Mona meets to her plight. Even in structuring the film's unconventional approach as the editing works overall despite a slow start. The sound work of Jean-Paul Mugel is excellent for its various locations from the small towns and farms along with the conditions of where Mona is. The music of Joanna Bruzdowicz is brilliant for its stark, orchestral arrangement with screeching strings to play to the plight of Mona's struggles.

The cast is excellent with notable small roles from Patrick Schmidt as a trucker, Pierre Imbert as a mechanic, Joel Fosse as Yolande's slacker boyfriend Paulo, Marthe Jarnias as an old lady, and Laurence Cortadellas as Elaine, the wife of Jean-Pierre. Stephane Freiss is very good as Jean-Pierre, a student of the professor who tries to find Mona due to the concerns of his professor. Yolande Moreau is excellent as Yolande, a maid who is looking out for an old lady whose encounter with Mona would have some repercussions about her own life. Yahiaoui Assouna is also excellent as a Tunisian vineyard worker that Mona befriends while Macha Meril is great as a professor trying to save plane trees as her life changes through her meeting with Mona.

The film's best performance easily goes to Sandrine Bonnaire as the vagabond Mona. Bonnaire's performance is truly entrancing as she allows her character to deal with all of these people she encounters while trying to survive. Yet, she makes Mona unlikeable at times while gaining sympathy for her plight while wearing dirty clothes and doing what she can to survive. Bonnaire, at the time, was 18 when the film came out as it served as an international breakthrough for her as she would win several awards for her performance.

Released in the fall of 1985, the film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival while going on to win a Cesar award for Best Actress for Bonnaire. The film also received prestigious awards from the L.A. Film Critics Association for Best Foreign Film and Actress for Bonnaire. The film would help solidify Agnes Varda's reputation as one of France's premier directors.

Sans toit ni loi is a remarkable film from Agnes Varda featuring a brilliant performance from Sandrine Bonnaire. While it is considered to be one of Varda's finest work, those new to the director might see this as a nice place to start. While it's not an easy film to watch for more mainstream audiences. It's something art house audiences will enjoy for its unconventional approach while following a character as she struggles in her final moments. In the end, Sans toit ni loi is a harrowing yet powerful film from Agnes Varda.

Agnes Varda Films: Diary of a Pregnant Woman - Du cote de la cote - La Pointe Courte - Cleo from 5 to 7 - Le Bonheur - (Les Creatures) – (Far from Vietnam) – (Lions Love) – (Daguerreotypes) – One Sings, the Other Doesn’t – (Murals Murals) – (Documenteur) - (Jane B. by Agnes V.) – ((Le Petit Amour) – (Jacquot de Nantes) – (The Young Girls Turn 25) – (One Hundred and One Nights) – The World of Jacques Demy - The Gleaners & I - (The Gleaners & I: Two Years Later) – (Cinevardaphoto) – (Some Windows of Noirmoutier) - (The Beaches of Agnes) – (Faces Places) – (Varda by Agnes)

© thevoid99 2011