734. Sans toit ni loi/Vagabond (1985)

Running Time: 105 minutes
Directed By: Agnes Varda
Written By: Agnes Varda
Main Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Yolande Moreau, Macha Meril, Joel Fosse, Stephane Freiss
Click here to view the trailer

WITHOUT ROOF OR RULE

Battling an ear infection, I took to my TV room with a stack of pillows and a comforter to continue on my cinematic journey through the pages of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book. This time around I finish off Agnes Varda's three films from the book, with the watching of "Vagabond", a film that really didn't do much for me.

One morning, while a farmer is tending to his daily chores, he comes across a dead body lying in a ditch and immediately phones the police. The body is that of a young girl, dressed in ratty clothing, hair mussed and possibly frozen to death, her face donning a blue tint with an icy glaze. We then flashback to get her story, the story of a girl no one really wanted and who really wanted no one. From there we get a pretty mediocre story of a drifter named Mona (Bonnaire), a girl who enjoys living outdoors, without roof or rule. She passes from one car to the next, sticking her thumb up and hitching rides from town to town. She travels with a pack of belongings on her back, most notably a tent that's seen better days. From there, Varda gets faux interviews from members of the cast, as they speak directly to the camera regarding the time they spent with Mona and about the encounters they had. We usually hear the interview and then see the actions that accompany each interview. Mona encounters several "lovers" along the way, a John Lennon looking hippie who offers to set up Mona with a trailer and a patch of land, a well-to-do female professor (Meril) and a housekeeper (Moreau).

There's really not much to say about "Vagabond". It just didn't do a whole lot for me and didn't seem to be anything worth getting into a frenzy over. The only thing about it that I'd consider "must see" would be the natural photography and the landscapes of France, which are beautiful and do as much as they can to add to this fairly dull story. I just didn't see the appeal of the drifter and it seems that I just can't seem to see the appeal in a lot of things that Agnes Varda holds dear. In fact, I can't seem to see what the big hubbub is about her and honestly, I would've been okay with them omitting all of her films. In fact, I'll break my concentration for just a moment and challenge any and all hardcore Varda fans to drop me a line in my comments box and tell me why you enjoy Varda's films and perhaps, your favorite Varda film. I don't really expect anyone to play along, but we'll see what happens.

For some reason, this was a shot that really stuck with me. Perhaps the most poignant shot of the film. It seems to be saying something powerful, although I'm not sure what.

It wasn't a terrible movie by any means, it was just incredibly flat. It wasn't poignant, it wasn't fascinating, it just was. It didn't bore me to tears or anything, but it certainly didn't excite me to watch it again or to go ranting and raving about it. If you're someone who doesn't have to see everything, then this is an easy pass. While the story sounds like it would be something original and unique, it's really just a story of a drifter girl and that's that. Although peeping on Macha Meril in the bathtub wasn't anything I'll be complaining about.

RATING: 5/10  Keeping it REALLY short today, because I simply can't think of anything else to say about "Vagabond". It's plain as toast and while it didn't bore me, it wasn't anything special either.

MOVIES WATCHED: 519
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 482

September 4, 2012  6:01pm

383. Cleo de 5 a 7/Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)

Running Time: 90 minutes
Directed By: Agnes Varda
Written By: Agnes Varda
Main Cast: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, Dorothee Blanc, Michel Legrand

DOWN ON THE STREETS OF PARIS

Moving right along and drawing one step closer to my short-term goal of 401 movies watched, I come to "Cleo from 5 to 7", another Agnes Varda film and one that I've been eyeballing for quite sometime. I say that a lot, don't I?

The film revolves around it's title character, Florence a.k.a Cleopatra a.k.a. Cleo (Marchand), a pop singer who, when the film starts, is having her fortune read in an attempt to try and get some good news about some medical tests that she recently had done. Unfortunately for Cleo, the fortune teller doesn't see a bright future, scaring Cleo to death and leading her to believe that she is in for certain doom. In reality, the tests won't be back until around 7pm and when our story begins, it's 5pm (hence the title). The film is told nearly in real time (from 5 to 7 doesn't equal 90 minutes, no matter what country you're in) and takes the viewer alongside Cleo as she awaits the results of her tests, trying her best to cope with the hours ahead of her. She goes around the city, from her home to the backseats of taxis to visit friends and ultimately to a nearby park, where she meets Antoine. Antonie is a soldier in the Algerian War and later in the day, he'll be taken back to the battlefields. He decides to spend the last moments of his three week leave with Cleo, as he accompanies her to the hospital to find out the results of her tests.

You know, this film just didn't do a whole lot for me, to be blunt about it. I'd never seen it before and during the months that I've spent eyeballing this one and knowing the synopsis, I have to admit I was really excited to finally check it out. The premise of a woman walking the streets of Paris as she anxiously awaits the results of her medical tests, just sounded like something I'd be down for. Especially when you add in the fact that the film was a part of the French New Wave and not a Hollywood, sympathy-getter. I knew the story, coming out of France, wouldn't intentionally tug on our heart strings and I expected a filmmaker like Varda to present the film rather bluntly, whereas an American filmmaker (lets say Ron Howard, for arguments sake) would try and draw as many tears out of the faces of the weak minded moviegoers as he could, using every cliche in the process. What I got was about half of what I expected, however, in my opinion, the story was just a little too emotionless. There was never a point in this film (except for maybe the end) when I felt compassion for Cleo. Whether or not I was supposed to feel compassion for her, I don't know, but I'd assume that when you give your main character cancer, you intend to evoke at least a little sympathy for her. I had none for this character.

SPOILER ALERT!

I normally like films where the time frame is kept short and the premise is kept simple and that's what you have here, except there's something missing. For one thing, the dialogue, as far as I'm concerned, is drivel. It just isn't very well written and I often times found myself drowning out the dialogue and found my mind wandering. It just didn't flow as well as it should have. I did, however, enjoy this film for the same reasons that a Parisian might enjoy watching Woody Allen's "Manhattan" and that's for the visual feast of a foreign city that I'll probably never experience in person. Varda takes us right down to the heart of Paris and sticks us in the middle of the city and lets us roam with her main character. The final chapter (Cleo & Antoine) is also a very fantastic piece of this film and it really picks up the entire movie and ends with a bang. The dialogue seems to flow better in this portion and I actually start to somewhat feel for the characters a little bit. The idea of a complete stranger being able to ease Cleo's mind is really heartwarming to me. It shows that sometimes we have to rely on unexpected things to help us through difficult times and that things are always a little easier if you have a companion.

RATING: 6.5/10 Quick review tonight, but I think I hit all the bullet points. It's something that I can't see making the TOP 20, but also something that I could see warming up to with another view.

MOVIES WATCHED: 374
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 627

December 21, 2011 12:22am

946. Les glaneurs et la glaneuse/The Gleaners and I (2000)

Running Time: 78 minutes
Directed By: Agnes Varda
Written By: Agnes Varda
Main Cast: Agnes Varda, Bodan Litnanski, Francois Wertheimer

THE FIRST "MUST SEE" MOVIE OF THE 21st CENTURY?

Well, according to the "1001" book, "The Gleaners and I" IS the first "must see" film of the 21st Century, as it gets the coup in kicking off the year 2000. The film is a documentary, directed by Agnes Varda and while it certainly sounds like a very boring synopsis, it's actually not too bad.

I always have a hard time describing documentaries, but I'll give it my best shot, as always. I also ask that you bear with me if this review isn't up to snuff, because I have a cold that is walloping my butt big time. Quite simply put, "The Gleaners and I" is about people who salvage. The term originated back in the days of farmers and farming and the word "glean" was used to describe people who would scour harvested land, picking up any crops that were left lying on the ground. To "glean" is to take what has sprouted out of the ground and to "pick" is to take what is hanging from a vine or tree. The film follows several different types of modern day gleaners, people like homeless men and women, who are forced to pick their meals out of dumpsters and artists who use the items that people have thrown away to create art. Agnes Varda takes the trip with us, interviewing and conversing with these gleaners and through the film you're able to criss cross on the roads of Europe. It's hard to believe how many legal barricades, bar people from taking leftover crops or trash that people have thrown out.

I'm not going to spoil anything, so no need for a warning. I read the synopsis for the film and I started watching it and I thought this was going to be TERRIBLE. I mean, why on Earth would I want to watch a nearly ninety minute documentary about people who pick things up off the ground. In actuality, once the film started getting going, it was quite interesting. Surprisingly this was a nice movie to watch when I was sick, because it was fairly laid back and was kind of perfect for a Saturday afternoon in bed. I think the most appealing part of the documentary to me, was getting to be Agnes Varda's passenger as she traveled through France. I've always been fascinated with foreign countries and to hear the people of France speak from the heart and see the French landscapes and sights, was quite interesting.

"The Gleaners and I" certainly isn't the best documentary I've seen thus far, but it held up and didn't really disappoint. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "must see", but I'd say if you get the chance to kill seventy-eight minutes, it'd be worth your time and despite the way it sounds, it's NOT at all a bad film.

RATING: 6/10 Again, sorry for the short and sweet review, but I just wanted to get in here and jot some things down. This really isn't the film that called for a LONG review anyway, so I think all is well.

MOVIES WATCHED: 297
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 704

Note: I plan to be finished with this 100 films on Monday and ready to have my TOP 20 posted by Monday night, Tuesday morning at the latest.

July 16, 2011 10:17pm