Agnès Varda made dozens of short films and documentaries in addition to her celebrated feature-length fiction films. These are my thoughts on them.
Agnès Varda Articles on The Reel World
Ranking the Agnès Varda Films
Thoughts on the Agnès Varda Documentaries and Short Films
DOCUMENTARIES
Daguerréotypes [1976]
“In the end, it’s a film by their neighbor.”
While essentially stuck at home raising a child, Varda went out and made a documentary about the people who populate her neighborhood. The film avoids sentimentality and instead just leans on the director’s obvious adoration for people and their stories to carry the day. Despite the slightness of the scope of the film, the film does capture a lot of what it means to be a part of a community and being alive in general. In lesser hands, this would be trite. In Varda’s steady hands, a love for the subjects keeps it alive.
Murs Murs [1981]
In one of her “sabbaticals” in Los Angeles, Varda made a documentary about the murals in the Los Angeles area. It’s a beautiful tribute to art and artists. It is a testament to the power of expression and representation. It’s a living, breathing work of art that proudly advocates for a better world where art is considered a critical element of a functioning society. The desire to create art is a universal experience that connects people and brings them closer together. Murs Murs captures that as well as anything.
The Young Girls Turn 25 [1993]
I admittedly probably would have cared more about this if I went and saw The Young Girls of Rochefort first, but this was still a beautiful examination of the making of said film.
The World of Jacques Demy [1995]
As someone who is not drawn to musicals, this documentary made me want to watch all of Demy’s big films. It also answered my long-held question of when that photo of Varda and Harrison Ford in the snow happened. So, this was a success.
The Gleaners and I [2000]
The Gleaners and I became a huge hit for Varda (to the extent that a small documentary on food gleaners can be a huge hit) and led to many awards being brought her way. It is a genuinely fascinating film. Varda talks to many people in France who glean to feed themselves (for the most part). It is utterly fascinating, and Varda’s deep empathy for the people she talks to is crucial. This type of film can so quickly become a “tourist film” where the camera gawks at the lives of others rather than listens to them. It is a perilously thin line, and there seems to be some self-awareness from Varda about that danger. I think she mostly overcomes this by putting herself in the film. The subjectivity is never denied. Varda is there and present in all the ways one needs to be in a conversation (it is somewhat jarring to hear her giddiness about getting to have fun with the digital camera during the course of this film though).
The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later [2002]
The Gleaners was such a hit that in a rather shocking development, Agnes Varda made (for wont of a better term) a sequel to one of her films. It does not feel tacked on because the point of the film is about following up with the people who populated the first film which ultimately hammers home how this story is about people. Varda also mildly confronts the “tourist” aspect of the first film. This was a worthy followup.
Agnes Varda: From Here to There [2011]
When you’re Agnes Varda and you are very old, you get to make a self-indulgent docu-series. Those are the rules. Varda has a natural curiosity about the world and about artists that he just going off and exploring and talking to artists is rather compelling. This felt like a living, breathing diary, and it is invaluable insight into the mind of one of the greatest modern artists. I probably will not watch many travel docu-series in my life, but I am grateful to have watched this one.
Faces Places [2017]
Agnes Varda at nearly 90 years old finally got her first Oscar nomination, and it was for a documentary co-directed with a 30-something photographer. Like much of her work in the final two decades of her life, this film is essentially a travel documentary. Varda always makes it work because of her natural curiosity about people. She has an empathetic, rather than a gawking camera. The unexpected companionship with JR was really nice as well. The end of the film ends on a shocking note where Varda goes to introduce JR to Jean-Luc Goddard, but JLG stands her up in the most dick-ish manner possible. It is one of the most stunning moments I have ever seen in a film. As JR pointed out, JLG may have done that on purpose to challenge the film and write a challenging “scene.” It does not make JLG any less of a dick though.
The Beaches of Agnès [2008]
Agnès Varda essentially made a combination of her two favorite things to do in her final decades: autobiography and travel film. Varda tells her life story and the story of her films. It’s gripping stuff and reinforces almost under-celebrated Varda was as a subject in films. She has one of the most compelling screen presences in history.
Varda by Agnès [2019]
This was Varda’s final work, and it essentially serves as a b-side to the The Beaches of Agnès. It is less autobiographical this time and more specifically about her work. It is also not a travel documentary and more of a high-production interview. But it is very satisfying and fun to watch.
SHORT FILMS
Black Panthers [1968]
In many ways, Varda’s brief visit and exploration of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense is beautiful. Varda gives the people the chance to speak their minds unencumbered, and you get the sense she is truly listening. Definitely worth watching.
Salut les Cubains [1963]
Agnes Varda visited Cuba in 1963 and attempted to capture what revolutionary Cuba was like through a combo of still photography montage and narration. It is absolutely worth the thirty minutes of your time to watch it.
Elsa la Rose [1965]
“It is not the poetry that makes me feel loved. It’s everything else.”
Varda briefly visits to artists who have been together for a long time and lets them talk about their relationship. You hear one of the artist’s poems in a voiceover throughout. It is a touching and sweet tale. I am drawn to the idea one of them talks about at the end: is art an expression or an act of love? The artist says the former, but I am not so certain. This is a fitting pre-cursor to the works Varda eventually made about Jacque Demy.
Uncle Yanco [1967]
Lovely and wholesome. Agnes met up with an uncle she had never met before who lived in the United States. She gave him a chance to philosophize on life and his views, and it was delightful.
Ô saisons, ô châteaux (1958) & Du côté de la côte (1958) [tied]
Agnès Varda made tourist short film advertisements for france that are prettier than like 99% of all other movies ever made.
Les fiancés du pont Macdonald (1961)
The silent short film that airs in the middle of Cleo. Varda explained she feared Cleo would drag and lose the audience so she conceived of an excuse to air a short film in the middle of Cleo to change things up. I would disagree with her worry of boredom, but the short film is nonetheless a delightful little nugget to unearth. The premise that Goddard’s fiance in the film “turned black” because he put on sunglasses was certainly eyebrow raising though.
L’opéra-mouffe (1958)
Like all Varda work, the absolute love of people just radiates off the screen at all times. The camera does not pity them as the downtrodden but loves them as the left behind.
Les dites cariatides (1984)
Don’t have much to say about this one but it sure was pretty!
T’as de beaux escaliers, tu sais (1986)
The central idea of this short documentary is that going to a movie theater is cool. And going to a great movie theater is even cooler. I hate to get political on here, but I have no choice but to agree with this idea.
Le Lion Volatil [2003]
Just look at the fucking cat Varda put in this film. A master of the craft.
Réponse de femmes: Notre corps, notre sexe [1975]
This short film is an interesting artifact if nothing else. It is a film designed to expression frustration at the patriarchy. It is a very narrow lens of female frustration though and its narrowness feels like it undermines it. This film is about white cishet frustration and nothing more.
Plaisir d’amour en Iran [1976]
I do not have much to say about this one beyond to say Iran sure looks pretty.
7p. cuis., s. de b., … à saisir [1984]
There was something positively haunting about this short film from Varda. It almost felt like a b-side of a Wes Anderson film where the whimsy was replaced with a feeling of mild dread. It did not grab me much, but it really stood out for how different it felt than much of her work.
Ulysse [1982]
Varda did a mini-documentary examining a photo she once took decades earlier. It speaks to the power of an image and offers insight into Varda’s mind.
Ydessa, les ours et etc… [2004]
Pretty distinctly my least favorite Varda film there. Sure, there is Varda’s curiosity to carry things, and she is exploring the inner workings of another artist. It is just not that interesting this time.
Les 3 boutons [2015]
At 86 years young, Varda made one final fiction film. It is a bizarre little fairy tale. It is beautiful to look at. I did not have a strong reaction to it beyond that.
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