"In my films, I always wanted to make people see deeply. I don't
want to show things, but to give people the desire to see."
Precursor of the New Wavers, but unlike them in not being a critic or even a
moviegoer (viewing only twenty before her own debut), Agnès Varda was
a successful photojournalist and official photographer of the Théatre
National Populaire before completing her first feature, La
Pointe Courte ("certainly the first film of the nouvelle vague"
- Georges Sadoul). Often grouped with Alain Resnais and Chris Marker as "The
Left Bank Group," due to their documentary work and concern with film form (although
Resnais claimed they had nothing in common "apart from cats"), she has consistently
interspersed unique documentaries with an incredibly varied range of features,
from neo-realism to surrealism, from giddy free-form improv to rigorous control,
to hybrids that can only be called "Vardian." "A full-fledged visual filmmaker...Varda
sustains an unsentimental yet subjective tone that is almost unique in the history
of movies" - Pauline Kael.
PROGRAMMED BY MICHAEL SAYERS
Presented with support from the National
Endowment for the Arts. Thanks to Marie Therese Guirgis (Winstar Cinema),
Kit Parker Films, Sony Classics, and Agnès Varda and her staff at Ciné-Tamaris.
MARCH 16/17/18 FRI/SAT/SUN
DOUBLE FEATURE!
 |
| CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7 |
(Cléo de 5 à 7, 1961) "As long as I'm beautiful, I'm
alive." Seemingly soulless chanteuse Corinne Marchand starts to get one
as she treks across Paris via car, bus, taxi, and high heels, from a tarot reader's
ominous prediction to a hospital for the results of her cancer test, stopping
off for shopping, a musical interlude with pal Michel Legrand and a silent comedy
starring Godard and Anna Karina. "Nouvelle vague
at its freshest" - David Shipman. 3:00, 6:25*, 9:50
 |
| LE BONHEUR |
(1964) Jean-Claude Drouot's got it all - a beautiful home in the Paris burbs with
wonderful wife and kids (the actor's own) - so when he falls for the post office
girl, it's only natural she become part of the family too - right? Shot in Impressionistic
colors to the strains of Mozart, Varda's musings on pure "happiness" won Berlin's
Silver Bear award, among many others. "Superb, uncompromising...as breathtakingly
beautiful as it is tough-minded." - L.A. Times. Shown with Réponse
de Femmes,which poses the question "What does it mean to be a woman?"
1:20, 4:45, 8:10*
AGNES VARDA IN PERSON on Fri, March 16, at the
6:25 PM screening of CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 and the 8:10 PM screening of LE
BONHEUR
RETURN TO TOP.
MARCH 20/21 TUE/WED
DOUBLE FEATURE!
NOTE: The print which we received of LES CREATURES is damaged
to the extent that it cannot be screened. As there are no other prints available,
we are showing VAGABOND in its place at the same showtimes (4:00 and
8:00) on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 21/22. VAGABOND will also play
as scheduled March 24/25. We are sorry for any inconvenience.
 |
| VAGABOND |
(Sans toit ni loi, 1985) "No one claimed the body: it went from the
ditch to a common grave." César-winning role for Sandrine Bonnaire
as Mona, a homeless drifter, recollected and reconstructed in flashback by those
she encountered in her final weeks. Venice Golden Lion winner. "The purity and
boldness of Varda's approach calls Bresson to mind." - Pauline Kael.
4:00, 8:00
 |
| LIONS LOVE (...AND LIES) |
(1968) "The pressures here in Hollywood are so great, from all the dead
people." Late 60s counter-culture California-style as Warhol superstar
Viva and Hair creators Jim Rado and Jerry Ragni (all as themselves) play
host to legendary underground filmmaker Shirley Clarke; goof off in bed; and riff
on sex, religion and stardom in Hollywood while RFK's assassination plays on TV.
"A beautiful, cockeyed movie about a ménage à trois." - Vincent
Canby, NY Times.
2:00, 6:00, 10:00
RETURN TO TOP.
MARCH 22/23 THU/FRI
DOUBLE FEATURE!
(Les cent et une nuits, 1995) A "delirious birthday party in honor of filmmaking's
first century" (NY Times),
as reclusive, slipping-into-senility film buff Michel Piccoli, plagued by a fortune-hunting
film student, entertains Mastroianni, Moreau, Belmondo, Deneuve, De Niro, Delon,
Depardieu and other no-first-names-necessary superstars. "Free as a bird, magical
and mysterious." - Le Figaro. Preceded by T'as de beaux escaliers...tu sais(1986)
which celebrates the Cinémathèque Fraincaise (and its 50 steps)
on its 50th anniversary. 1:00, 4:30, 8:00
 |
| THE YOUNG GIRLS TURN 25 |
(Les demoiselles ont eu 25 ans, 1992) Varda in Rochefort to celebrate the
25th anniversary of Demy's The
Young Girls of Rochefort,which one resident claims "belongs to the people
of Rochefort, like a gigantic home movie." Clips from Demy's film, behind-the-scenes
footage and interviews with cast and crew illuminate the influence of the town
on the film and vice versa. Shown with Uncle
Yanco (1967), Varda's summer-of-love visit with her uncle, a painter
and bohemian denizen of a Sausalito houseboat community. 2:55, 6:25, 9:55
RETURN TO TOP.
MARCH 24/25 SAT/SUN
DOUBLE FEATURE!
|
| VAGABOND |
(Sans toit ni loi, 1985) "No one claimed the body: it went from the
ditch to a common grave." César-winning role for Sandrine Bonnaire
as Mona, a homeless drifter, recollected and reconstructed in flashback by those
she encountered in her final weeks. Venice Golden Lion winner. "The purity and
boldness of Varda's approach calls Bresson to mind." - Pauline Kael. 3:10,
6:35, 10:00
 |
KUNG-FU MASTER
(Le Petit Amour) |
(1987) "Do all women, once in their life, fall for a young boy?"
Single mom Jane Birkin goes head-over-heels for her daughter's 14-year-old classmate,
a video game whiz-kid with a passion for Kung-Fu Master. With Birkin's
actual daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Varda's son Mathieu Demy. 1:40,
5:05, 8:30
RETURN TO TOP.
MARCH 27 TUE
DOUBLE FEATURE!
(1987) Portrait of actress Jane Birkin (ex-wife of singer/ songwriter Serge Gainsbourg),
her "real" self as well as a multitude of characters she's asked to play by Varda
in sketches and tableaux vivants - painterly reconstructions of historical
and mythological moments. 3:20, 6:30, 9:40
STRANGE VISITS
Les dites caryatides
(1984) tours the architectural statues of Paris.
Du cote de la cote
(1958) contrasts the haves and have-nots of the Riviera. (*NOTE: SHOWING
AGAIN AT FILM FORUM)
In 7 rms, kit,
bath... (grab it) (1984) a realtor's tour through an abandoned apartment
(and ex-hospice) conjures up fractured narratives and surreal imagery of previous
inhabitants. 2:00, 5:10, 8:20
RETURN TO TOP.
MARCH 28/29 WED/THU
TRIPLE FEATURE!
(1980) A documentary look at the outdoor murals of Los Angeles - "who paints them,
who pays for them, who looks at them, how this city, which is the film capital
of the world, reveals itself by its whispering walls" (Varda). 2:10, 6:10,
10:10
NOTE: Though we were promised subtitled prints of all the Agnes Varda
films, the print we received for today of MUR MURS (MURAL MURALS OF L.A.)
is an unsubtitled print containing untranslated narration by Agnes Varda. Many
of the interviews with the artists of Los Angeles, however, are in English.
The film is a visual voyage through the outdoor artwork of Los Angeles and (we
feel) can be enjoyed without the narration.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
(1981) After her lover splits, Emilie (Sabine Mamou, film editor of Mur Murs)
tries to rebuild a life with her son (Mathieu Demy), in a harsh Los Angeles, hostile
to outsiders. "L.A. without sun, fun or puns." - Varda. 3:45, 7:45
Politics and Rhythm
Black Panthers (1968)
focuses on an Oakland rally to free imprisoned leader Huey Newton and interviews
key figures Bobby Seale, Stokely Carmichael, et al.
In Salut les
Cubains (1963), winner of the Bronze Lion at Venice, 1500 still photos
are edited to the rhythms of Cuban dance music. "Socialism and cha-cha-cha." -
Varda. 1:00, 5:00, 9:00
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 |
| JACQUOT DE NANTES |
MARCH 30/31 FRI/SAT
DOUBLE FEATURE!
(1990) "He had known what he called 'a happy childhood.'" Varda's
evocation of husband Jacques Demy's youth and his
passion for cinema - finished the year after his death - is interspersed with
interviews with Demy himself and clips from his movies - Lola,
Bay of Angels, Umbrellas
of Cherbourg, and more - relating directly to re-staged events shot on
the actual locations. 2:00, 5:50, 9:40
(1993) Extensive film clips and interviews with Demy and legendary collaborators
Catherine
Deneuve, Jeanne
Moreau, Michel
Legrand, Anouk
Aimée, Bertrand
Tavernier, Dominique
Sanda, et al., highlight this overview of the director's career. 4:10,
8:00
RETURN TO TOP.
APRIL 1 & 3 SUN & TUES
DOUBLE FEATURE!
(1954) Philippe Noiret tries to save his marriage by returning to his home village,
where the fishermen are facing economic turmoil, two stories unfolding separately
in counterpoint (inspired by Faulkner's Wild Palms), edited by Alain Resnais.
A true precursor of the New Wave in its low budget, location shooting, non-pro
cast among the villagers, and Brechtian 'alienation.' "A miraculous film, in its
existence and its style." - André Bazin. "Ambitious, honest and intelligent."
- François Truffaut. 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00
 |
| O SAISONS, Ô CHÂTEAUX |
CASTLES, LOVE AND A NAKED MAN
Ulysse
(1982) investigates an enigmatic photograph and its meanings 30 years later to
its participants.
O saisons, ô
châteaux (1957) sardonically poses fashion models amidst the
castles of the Loire region;
Elsa la rose (1964) is a portrait of literary heavyweights Elsa
Triolet and Louis Aragon;
O SAISONS and ELSA LA ROSE (both are 20 minutes) are in French without
subtitles. A detailed synopsis summarizing the French will be available at the
box office.
2:40, 5:40, 8:40 (Note Showtime Change)
RETURN TO TOP.
APRIL 4/5 WED/THU
DOUBLE FEATURE!
 |
ONE SINGS,
THE OTHER DOESN'T |
(L'une chante, l'autre pas, 1976) Within a fifteen-year friendship, two
women share - and one does sing about - their differing experiences with
children, men, marriage, careers, parenting and the shifting political landscapes
of the 60s and 70s. "The only truly woman's film so far made." - Dilys
Powell. Plus Plaisir
d'amour en Iran (1976), love and architecture, the sacred and profane,
in the land of the shah. 2:00, 5:50, 9:40
(1975) Portrait of the shopkeepers and habituées of a short stretch
of the Rue Daguerre (named for the French photo pioneer), Varda's residence for
over 40 years. "Neighborhood cinema, the collective myth of people anchored in
the past, in their natural tendencies." - Varda. 4:20, 8:10
RETURN TO TOP.
Questions/Comments? E-mail
Film Forum. Box Office: 212-727-8110. Repertory
screen is programmed by Bruce Goldstein. (Schedule subject
to change). © 2001, The Moving
Image, Inc. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced
without permission. Website Manager: Richard
J. Hutchins. This page was last updated on
May 13, 2003
