agnès varda’s influence: from the french new wave to...

AgnèsVarda’sInfluence:FromtheFrenchNewWaveto#MeToo

When contemplating film history, several prominent directorsmaycometomind:Kubrick,Hitchcock,Welles,Kurosawa,Bergman,andsoon.Clearly,allthesenameshaveonethingincommon.Throughouttime,womenhavelargelybeenoverlookedinthefilmindustry,fromAlice Guy-Blaché in the 1890s to the 2020 Oscars’ lack of femalenominees in the Best Director category. Perhaps then, instead oftryingtodiscoveronesinglecanonoffilmhistory(whichisobviouslyimpossible), we should turn our attention to discussing themultiplicityoffilmhistories.TheinfluenceandimpactoftheFrench

NewWaveisundeniable,inparttothesuccessoftheCahiersduCinémadirectors:Godard,Truffaut,Rohmer,ChabrolandRivette.OneofthemostsignificantmembersoftheFrenchNewWave is Agnès Varda. As the onlywoman of the FrenchNewWave, Varda is oftenoverlookedandignored.Nevertheless,asweshalldemonstrate,herinfluenceandimpactonfilmhistoryismonumental.

AgnèsVardawasaFrenchfilmdirector,photographerandartistborninBelgium in 1928. While she is most famous for her filmmaking,particularly its contributions to the French New Wave and feministcinema, she began her career as a photographer. One of her mostrecognisedworksinthisfieldisSalutlesCubains(1963),aphotographicexplorationofCubaintheearly1960s.SalutlesCubainswasmadewitha single camera and light portable technology, and was constructedthrough only still images, sound and music. Despite her move fromphotography to filmmaking later in her career, the two were neverexplicitlyexclusivefromoneanother.Vardasawaclearrelationshipbetweenphotographicandcinematic forms:“I takephotographs,or Imakefilms.Or Iputfilms inthephotos,or

photosinthefilms”(Darke48).Movingonfromphotographytofilmmaking,Varda’sfirstfilmwasLaPointeCourte(1955),adramawhichfocusesonthelivesofafishermanandyoungcoupleinasmall fishing village, and the struggles of the two to save theirfailingmarriagewithoneanother.WhilethiswasVarda’sfeaturefilm debut, it pre-dates the French NewWave and is thus notconsidered part of it. One of Varda’s most well-known filmsconsideredtobepartof theFrenchNewWave isCléode5à7

(1962).Cléode5à7follows95minutesinthelifeofaParisiansingerawaitingtheresultsofamedicaltest.TheFrenchNewWavewasrecognisedfordeconstructingvisualnormsandconventionsinitsfilmmaking.Cléo de 5 à 7 is no exception to this, asVarda’s editing style in the film deliberately drawsattention to itself throughout the film. For example,establishing shots are often done away with, and afast-pacededitingstyleisachievedthroughjumpcuts

and unmatched shots. Not only recognisedforitscontributiontotheFrenchNewWave,Cléode 5 à 7 also explores female identity,making it an essential piece of Varda’sfeminist filmmaking.Over the courseof thefilm,CléoundergoesatransformationwhichAlison Smith refers to as a change “fromwoman seen to woman seeing” (100),

claimingasenseofidentityandautonomyasthefilmprogresses,observednotonlyinthefilm’seventsbut in its conventionsandpractices. In the firsthalf of the film, the camerafollowsherclosely,butduringthesecondhalfofthefilm,weseetheworldthroughCléo’seyesandpointofviewshotssignify,asSmithputsit,“Cléo’schangefromobjecttosubject”(101). As the film moves from start to finish, its very presentation shifts perspective todemonstratethedevelopmentofCléo’sidentity.

Vardacoinedtheterm‘cinécriture’todescribethesingularityofcompositionshestrivestoachieveateverylevelofproduction:includingscreenplay,shootingscript,casting,location,positionandmovementof the camera, editing rhythm, sound, and soon.AgnèsVarda iswillingtothinkoutsidethebox,disruptingtherulesofthegameinordertocreatemeanings

and ideas in her own unique way. Cinécriture allowsAgnèsVardatoexpressandsynchroniseplatforms.InMurMurs (1981) and Documenteur (1987), her ‘writing onfilm’guidesviewerstodipinsidethecentralcorevalueoflifeandenergy.Thebenefitsofcinécriture isthat itcanmake people feel thepace and style of apersonalexpressionthat

isuniquetoVarda.TastingVarda’smasterpiecewitheverybite, audiences will have a bigger picture and absorb hermessagesandvisioninadirectform.DuringtheFrenchNewWave, Agnès Varda’s cinécriture style of filmmakingdeliveredoriginalideastothefilmindustry.Vardastronglybelievedthatwordswerenottheonly way to control how film should be. Originally a photographer, Varda had a strongconnectionwithpicturesandimages.Theconstructionofcinécriturestartswithimagesandendswith sound.According toAlisonSmith, “still imageandmoving imageoftenmeet inVarda’sfilms”(22).HeruniqueapproachensuresthatAgnèsVardahasanimportantroleinfilmhistory.Furthermore,drawinguponauteur theory,“in theFrenchNewWave,peopledevelopedthenotionofthefilmmakerasanartist.Theydidn’tinventtheidea,buttheydidpopularizeit.AGermanfilmmakerwhostartedasaGermantheatredirector,MaxReinhardt,cameupwiththeideaoftheauteur–theauthorinfilms.Hecameupwiththataroundtheteens…So,TruffautandtheFrenchNewWavepopularizedit,ortheyrevivedit”(Cornell).AgnèsVardasucceedsattellinganarrativeinanavant-gardeway,distinctiveoftheFrenchNewWave.Forexample,inCléode5à7(1962),AgnèsVardafilmedinreal-timeandcapturedevery single emotion and movement from the actors, revealing the most realistic and

authenticaspectsofthefilm.ThesamemethodscanbefoundextensivelythroughoutVarda’sfilmography. Influenced heavily by auteur theory, Agnès Varda oversaw all roles and hadcontrol ineverystageoftheproductionprocess.Somepeoplemayseethisascontrolling,sincemost filmsrequirecooperationwith the team.However,maintainingsucha levelofcontrolallowedVarda’sdistinctvisiontoshinethroughandthereforecreateaspecialflavourtoherfilms,whichcementedherasanimportantfigureinfilmhistory.

AgnèsVardaisoftenseenasthe‘mother’oftheFrenchNewWave.DelphineBénézetarguesforVarda'simportanceas‘aufemininsingulier’(1),meaningawomanofsingularityandofthe utmost importance in film history. Varda’s filmography clearly “constitutes a decisivecontribution to feminism” (Bénézet 10). Throughout her extensive and successful career,

Vardafrequentlyexploredfeministthemes,mostnotablyinL’Unechante,l’autrepas(1977),whichfocussesonthelivesoftwowomenagainstthebackdropoftheWomen’sMovementin1970sFrance.Thefilmexploresthestrugglesof motherhood, domesticlife, and the search foridentity.Vardaalso toucheson the issue of abortion,

whichhadbeenmadelegalin1976,ahugecelebrationfortheWomen’s Movement. Outside of her films, Varda was alsoinvolvedinfeminism.In1971,Vardawasoneofthe343womenwhosignedamanifesto,admittingtheyhadhadanabortion,despite it being illegal in France at the time, and asking forabortions to bemade legal. Varda’s activism continued throughout her life, and even to

extendedto#MeToo.In2018,attheCannesFilmFestival,82womentookastandforequality,includingVarda,whoisoneof only two female directors ever to receive the festival’sprestigious Palme d’Or. Smith notes how “L’Une chante,l’autrepas…hasbeencalleda filmabout feminism ratherthan a feminist film (meaning thatwhile its subject is thewomen’smovement, its fabrication isconventionaland its

representationofwomenunproblematic)”(93).ItistruethatperhapsL’Unechante,l’autrepasisVarda’smoststraightforwardandundemandingfilm,withitsovertandsurface-levelfeminist themes. Perhaps then, when exploring Varda’s feminist themes throughout herfilmography,weshouldconsultsomeofhermorechallengingwork.LeBonheur(1965)isafrequentlyoverlookedwork.DeRoonoteshow“itremainsVarda’smostmisunderstoodfilm,disparaged for its seemingly anti-feminist themes and opacity” (189). Nevertheless, LeBonheurhasahiddenfeministcounter-narrativethatunderminesthefilm’spicture-perfectsurfacethrough“asophisticatedstrategyofvisualirony”(DeRoo189).Varda herself has described Le Bonheur as “abeautiful,seeminglyperfectfruitwithaworminside”(Hottell63).Asspectators,weneedto“peelbackthe

skin from the fruit and expose theworm” (Hottell 63). Varda’s feminist visual irony in LeBonheurconstitutespartofherdistinctivestyle,whichshedescribesasa“woman’svisualvocabulary”(Smith92).Inmanyways,Varda’scinematicstyleisintertwinedwithherfeministbeliefs.Flitterman-LewispraisesVardaforenacting“herdesiretofilmasawoman”(265).AgnèsVarda’simportanceandinfluenceonfilmhistorythereforecannotbedivorcedfromherstatusasawomanandafeministfilmmaker.

It isapparentthatAgnèsVarda leftbehindan impressivebodyofworkbeforeshedied inMarch2019attheageof90.TheseworksincludeVagabond(1985)whichfollowsayoungfemalevagrantacrosstheSouthofFrance.VagabondwontheGoldLionattheVeniceFilmFestivalandthereforeacclaimedextensivecriticalapproval.Followingthis, inthelate80s,Varda’shusbandJacquesDemybecameill.Determinedtopreservehislegacy,Vardaspentmuchofhertimeandenergyredeemingtherights tohis filmsandhavingthemrestored.AfterDemy’sdeathin1990,Vardahonouredhimbymakingthreefeaturesabouthiswork.

Most notably, Jacquot de Nantes (1991) whichpremieredat theNewYorkFilmFestivaland thenwas distributed by Sony Pictures. By mid-1996,Vardahadagreedtoworkonafullretrospectiveofher films at the Museum of Modern Art. Simplytitled Agnès Varda, it ran for the entiremonth ofOctober in 1997, showing every film Varda had

made.By2000,VardahadcreatedthedocumentaryTheGleanersandI(2000)whichbecameaninstantclassic,celebratingtheartisanalpotentialofdigitalimage-makingandthejoyofmeeting people unencumbered (Kardish). Varda continued herworkwithThe Beaches ofAgnes (2008), Faces, Places (2017) and Varda by Agnes(2019)whichsheworkedonsixweekspriortoherdeath.Itis indisputable that Varda’s filmography is both long andvaried, alternating between fiction and documentary.Smithsuggestedthat“Varda’splaceisaveryimportantandindividual voice in themodern French cinema… togetherher films form a body of work which has considerableformaland thematic coherence” (196).However, it couldbe said that despite all of her contributions to the filmindustry,herworkhasbeenoverlooked.Varda’splace inthehistoryofFrenchcinemaisnot“setinstone”(Bénézet9). Because of her double status as a woman and as afilmmakerwho did not belong to the Cahiers du Cinémagroup, Varda has always been perceived as a bit of anoutsider(Bénézet10).Thisoverlookonsuchanimportantfigureinfilmhistorycouldbedowntohergender.Itisobviousthatmencontrolmostaspectsoffilm,eversincetheearlydaysofcinema.Because“therearefewerfilmsdirectedbywomenwinningawardsorbeingpickedbyfestivals,womendirectorsenduphavingasmallerfootprint”(Bahania).Thissuggeststhatgendercouldbeapotentialbarriertofemaledirectors,namelyVarda,whohashadhervastandlaudedfilmcareeroverlooked.

Toconclude,whileoftentimesignoredbyasingularandlimitingfilmhistory,AgnèsVarda’sinfluencecannotbedoubtedorquestioned.Herdistinctivestyle,characterisedbyherownterm ‘cinécriture’ and the relationship betweenmoving image and still photography, hasimpacted filmmakers even today. Furthermore, her status as a woman and a feminist isevidentthroughoutherfilmography.Vardagoesbeyondsimplyexploringfeministcontentandthemes,butshealsoattempts tocreate“woman’svisualvocabulary” (Smith92).Herinfluenceandimpactonfilmhistoryisimmense.DelphineBénézet’sdescriptionofVardaas‘aufemininsingulier’(1)isthereforeveryfitting.

WorksCited

Bahania,AnaMarie.‘WhyareWomenDirectorsExcludedfromHistory?’.BBCCulture,Oct30.2018.

Bénézet,Delphine.TheCinemaofAgnèsVarda:ResistanceandEclecticism, ColumbiaUP,2014.

Cornell,Julian.‘AsktheProfessor:DidtheFrenchNewWaveInventtheIdeaoftheAuteur?’.ScreenPrism,Sept9.2016.

Darke,Chris.‘AgnèsVarda’.Sight&Sound,vol.25,no.4,2015,pp.46-50

DeRoo,Rebecca.‘UnhappilyEverAfter:VisualIronyandFeministStrategyinAgnesVarda’sLeBonheur’.StudiesinFrenchCinema,vol.8,no.3,IntellectLtd,2008,pp.189-209.

Flitterman-Lewis,Sandy.ToDesireDifferently:FeminismandtheFrenchCinema,CaliforniaUP,1990.

Hottell, Ruth. ‘Including Ourselves: The Role of Female Spectators in Agnes Varda’s LeBonheurandL’Unechante,l’autrepas’.CinemaJournal,vol.38,no.2,TexasUP,1999,pp.52-71.

Kardish, Laurence. ‘Agnès Varda’s Long-Term Legacy:Why It Took Decades For AmericanAudiencestoAppreciateHerWork’.IndieWire,May31.2019.

Smith,Alison.AgnèsVarda,ManchesterUP,1998.