David Parkinson enjoys this second set of films from the irrepressible French filmmaker, which includes Vagabond and her biopic of husband Jacques Demy, Jacquot de Nantes.
Agnès Varda’s remarkable career is well served by this second collection.
Her ruggedly poetic condemnation of societal indifference towards wasted lives, Vagabond (1985), was acclaimed for its combination of eyewitness accounts and flashbacks to the days immediately before teenager Sandrine Bonnaire’s demise.
Feminists took against L’une chante, l’autre pas (1976), which chronicles the friendship between a mother and a student chanteuse, but it’s impossible not to be stirred by the emotional and political potency of this fanfare for the common woman.
In Jacquot de Nantes (1991), Philippe Maron excels as the would-be auteur producing his first movies. This exquisite account of the youth of her recently deceased husband, Jacques Demy, finally received an overdue companion piece with The Beaches of Agnès (2008, available separately, see p24), which combines autobiography with mischievous digression and the dauntless octogenarian’s infectious love of life and cinema.
A second volume of classics from French director Agnes Varda. Features The Beaches of Agnes (2008), Jacquot de Nantes (1991), Vagabond (1985) and L'Une Chante, L'Autre Pas (1977).
The Beaches of Agnes: An intimate and inventive autobiographical portrait of acclaimed experimental French director Agnes Varda. A member of the French New Wave and married to fellow director Jacques Demy, Varda pioneered the 'cine-writing' style of filmmaking, carefully planning every aspect of the film in order to achieve the greatest emotional response. Taking a detour from the standard forms of storytelling, Varda relates her own story by employing a range of filmic techniques, including the re-staging of dramatic events in her life, and the use of symbolic visual sets that combine to flesh out her thoughts and concepts, while at the same time giving an insight into her creative processes through the years. The film was the winner of the Best Documentary Cesar Award, 2009.
Jacquot de Nantes: The true story of the childhood of Jaques Demy, and his pursuit of a dream to become a filmmaker.
Vagabond: A shocking tale of a homeless drifter, Mona (Sandrine Bonnaire), found frozen to death in a ditch and the seamless flashbacks that record her fall into degradation. Varda says little about her heroine. But seen through Mona's eyes and portrayed in rich naturalistic performances, the result is an unswerving and poetic portrait of modern France.
L'Une Chante, L'Autre Pas: Set against the backdrop of the women's movement in 1970s France, this film follows the lives of two women from differing backgrounds.
