BEFORE THERE WAS “THE FRENCH NEW WAVE,” THERE WAS AGNÈS VARDA
IN 1955, HER DEBUT FEATURE, LA POINTE COURTE, SET A NEW STANDARD FOR YOUNG FRENCH DIRECTORS
IT’S ROOTED IN REALISM, IT’S CINEMATICALLY STRIKING, AND IT’S REFLECTIVE OF NEW IDEAS
LA POINTE COURTE CAPTURES THE EBB AND FLOW OF A FRENCH COMMUNITY WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY
COMMUNICATING THE HOPES AND FEARS OF ITS MAIN CHARACTERS, OFTEN WITH JUST THE IMAGES ALONE
VARDA’S PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE UNDOUBTEDLY INFLUENCED THE CAHIERS DU CINÉMA CROWD, ALL OF WHOM
WOULD MOSTLY BE IDENTIFIED WITH THE SO-CALLED “LA NOUVELLE VAGUE”
VARDA IS KNOWN AS THE GRANDMOTHER OF THE FRENCH NEW WAVE
AND HER ECLECTIC STYLE IS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE “LEFT BANK”
BUT THESE LABELS HAVE NEVER DEFINED VARDA’S WORK, AND HER EARLY FILMS HIGHLIGHT THE COLLABORATIVE
NATURE OF HER NEW WEAVE PEERS
IN CLÉO DE 5 À 7, VARDA PARODIES THE REAL-LIFE
MARRIAGE OF JEAN-LUC GODARD AND ANNA KARINA, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT ANY CREATIVE TENSION WAS
ESSENTIALLY NON-EXISTENT, AT LEAST AT THAT TIME
FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER, FAMOUSLY PORTRAYED BY CORRINE MARCHAND, A SENSE OF DOOM FOLLOWS
HER AROUND THE CITY
CLÉO STRUGGLES WITH THE IDEA THAT SHE MAY HAVE CANCER, ALL THE WHILE REVELING IN HER
PARISIAN FAME AND BEAUTY
ONCE AGAIN, VARDA’S PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE ONCE AGAIN PRODUCES ICONIC NEW WAVE MOMENTS
CLÉO IS TOUGH
CLÉO IS FUNNY
CLÉO IS A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER
AND, ON THIS PARTICULAR DAY, CLÉO LIVES LIFE TO THE FULLEST, ALL THE WHILE CHANNELING HER
INNER GOTH, FULLY AWARE THAT SOMETHING’S NOT QUITE RIGHT
VARDA USES HER DOCUMENTARIAN BACKGROUND TO FILL CLÉO’S WORLD WITH OBSERVANT LOCALS
THE SAME TYPE OF PEOPLE SHE INCLUDED FOR THE 1958 SHORT FILM L'OPÉRA-MOUFFE
AND IT’S THAT SENSE OF UNEASE THAT VARDA UTILIZES FOR THE FILM’S CONCLUSION, AS BOTH
CLÉO AND A SOLDIER EMBRACE LIFE WHILE ANTICIPATING THEIR POSSIBLE DEATHS
VARDA’S THIRD FEATURE, LE BONHEUR — AKA HAPPINESS —IS MORE EXPERIMENTAL AND ARGUABLY
MORE PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT LIFE’S UPS AND DOWNS
THE SUBTEXTUAL THEMES ARE CLEAR AS DAY, AS A MARRIED MAN, WITH KIDS, SEEKS MORE THAN
HE ALREADY HAS
HE’S A SMOOTH OPERATOR, AND MANIPULATES SITUATIONS TO HIS ADVANTAGE
THESE FRISKY LOVERS ARE EGOTISTICAL YET HONEST ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS, AND VARDA’S SHARP
DIALOGUE TOUCHES ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TRULY HAPPY
AND THE EMOTIVE CHARACTER CLOSE UPS REMIND OF LA POINTE COURTE A DECADE PRIOR
ONLY IN LE BONHEUR, THEY’RE A LITTLE MORE REVEALING AND RAW
MUCH LIKE SO MANY OF VARDA’S DOCUMENTARIES, INCLUDING THE ONE SHE MADE IN CUBA SHORTLY
AFTER: SALUT LES CUBAINS
THE SAME THEMATIC CONCEPTS APPLY TO ANOTHER VARDA CLASSIC RELEASED TWENTY YEARS LATER:
VAGABOND
THIS FILM EXAMINES HOW PEOPLE JUDGE WHAT THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND, WITH VARDA PRESENTING
FRAGMENTED FACTS THROUGH HER NARRATION
LIKE VAGABOND’S MONA, VARDA, TOO, IS A FREE-THINKING INDIVIDUAL
AND JUST AS SHE DESCRIBES MONA AS COMING “FROM THE SEA,” VARDA IS ALSO DRAWN TO THE BEACH,
AND THE CONSTANT EBB AND FLOW OF LIFE’S ROLLING WAVES