Agnes Varda bringing the skill of photography to film and creating the New French Wave at 27 years now dead from Cancer at 90.
Her brilliance of meshing fiction and documentary, and harsh reality and blurring these concepts.
Her films are feminist landmarks both in front and behind the camera. And women also ‘people’ as in ‘Vagabond’; winning Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival 1985. About young female drifter finally dead in a freezing ditch.
Varda’s youth will never fade! It is amazing how timeless her worldly energy!
1954 the start, with ‘La Pointe Courte’, a crisis couple in fishing port on the Mediterranean coast, with contrast to local villagers’ life struggle, all intertwining. 1962. ‘Cleo’ an incredible commentary on a beautiful singer, fear of cancer biopsy results, (how many of us travel that course!) and the 5 to 7 ironic hours of French mistress objectification!
Her 2017 collaboration with ‘JR’ in ‘Visages Villages’, a French street photographer, and travelling through rural France with a celebration of ordinary people. They parallel celebrity in this the new ‘selfie’ age. But remarkably ‘JR’ age in 30s, and Agnes nearly 90!
Predeceasing her husband filmmaker Jaques Demy by some 20 years, yet possessing that quality of total life involvement to ‘carry on’, finally.. to her sad death from cancer at 90…and always working.
My reaction? Sadness that her life prematurely cut off from yet another decade or two of what would continue to be a fantastic artistic contribution.
This also tribute to ‘seniority’, and only she appreciative of today’s shocking treatment of many downtrodden, but also those seniors who cannot function in our society for their deprivation, side-lining, medical maltreatment, poverty, work denial, and effectively enforced early societal death!
Her secrets?
A loving family that was a source of security and solace
An ability to reinvent herself
A love of life, art, people, principle,
Always moving, always enthusiastic, optimistic, reflective, creative, incisive, thinking. Seemingly happy as her life was full! Her mind was continuously vibrant.
With that backdrop, she at 90 without murmur!
her survival reason?
continuous movement, french food fortunate, outdoors, enrapture with life, creative, enthusiastic that each day worth living.
an absence of stress that cannot be overcome with her personality, family, real friends and life.
her locations in the south of France and California of frequent sun, outdoors, good foods.
Film Visages Villages, with JR, aptly suffering her chastisement for hiding behind his ‘permanent’ sunglasses. How often this, and parallel younger dilemmas, not creatively discussed!
But JR sends her blown up ‘toes’ and ‘eyes’ on freight trains to ‘explore’ terrain yet unfolding. This artistic creator: Awesome Agnes Varda Validates Life & Longevity. Still moving, seeing forever in life and death a proud creator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnsL3hzDh80
