946. Les glaneurs et la glaneuse

Les glaneurs et la glaneuse
The Gleaners and I
2000
Directed by Agnes Varda

Kicking off the last century on this blog, we have a documentary about people who dig through garbage!  It is not quite as dull as it could have been, but I wouldn't exactly call it a strong start.  We only have seven more years to impress, people!

The film follows a series of gleaners as they...glean things.  Some of the gleaners search for food in fields, while many of the gleaners are urban based and forage for knickknacks and other personal items.  Agnes Varda's presences as a filmmaker plays a significant role in the movie, as she often draws parallels between artists and scavengers.

I did like how Varda inserted herself into the film.  I always appreciate when filmmakers do that with documentaries as it makes the viewing of the movie so much more special.  You are not just receiving information, you are going on a journey with someone.  Still, as the premise wasn't the most interesting of topics (to me, at least) I did find myself watching the clock a bit.  I guess not all films are trying to be on the edge of your seat thrillers, but its flatness will probably stop me from ever watching this again.

Happy 2000s!

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Translates to The Gleaners and The Gleaneress.

734. Vagabond

Vagabond
Sans toit ni loi
1985
Directed by Agnes Varda

I was exaggerating before when I said that nearly every List movie has some sort of rape scene.  It is still a bit of an overstatement, but here we are again with a film that depicts sexual assault.  I have to figure it's about one in seven movies on the List that have a rape scene by the amount I complain about it.  We should really crunch the numbers on it.  Of course, in real life, it's something like one in five women will be the victim of some sort of sexual assault so I suppose it should be represented on screen. Still, Is it too much to ask for a bit of escapism?

The movie starts with a farmer finding the body of a young woman in his field.  We learn through a series of mock interviews with the actors that her name is Mona.  She is a drifter and no one really knows anything about her.  The film follows Mona's last days and the effect she had on the people who met her.

I always get a thrill of excitement when there is a female director on the List, since they are few and far between.  This was a good film, but perhaps not as good as I wanted it to be.  Mona is a great character.    It was fascinating watching the other characters romanticize her life, without actually nothing anything about her or her hardships.  At times she seemed to think it was glamorize it too.  Still, the audience spends the whole movie knowing the brutal truth about how her "freedom" ends.

I will say that the sexual assault scene didn't feel gratuitous.  It showed how us how dangerous and terrible Mona's way of life was, making me wonder what Mona was running away from if this hell was a better alternative.

Still, I can imagine many people would be bored watching the incidents of her life as none of them could really qualify as"adventures" and really got quite dull during the middle stretch.  I have definitely enjoyed reflecting on it more than I enjoyed watching it.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The title is a play on the French idiom, "without faith, nor law."

383. Cleo de 5 a 7

Cleo de 5 a 7
Cleo From 5 To 7
1962
Directed by Agnes Varda

This is one of those films where the premise is a lot more interesting than the actual movie.  The idea of a woman wandering Paris while she waits to see if she has cancer actually sounds pretty intriguing.  However, I must confess I was bored for 70% of the film.

I will say that the main actress, Corinne Marchand, is absolutely stunning in this movie and gives a great performance that might have won her an Oscar today.

I don't know what it is about these French New Wave directors, but they seem to be incapable of keeping my attention.  I suppose that means I will not be allowed to enter a stuffy intellectual club any time soon.  Still, I have never been good at faking enthusiasm and most of these movies are dull, dull, dull.  There are notable exceptions of course.

Anyway, I am in one of my complaining moods so I will sign off now.  Great performance, boring film.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Godard makes a cameo appearance in this film.