Vagabond

Agnès Varda—professional photographer, installation artist, and pioneer of the Nouvelle Vague—is an institution of French cinema, and yet she fiercely opposes institutional thinking of any kind. This film offers insights into her oeuvre, using excerpts from her work to illustrate her artistic vision. Revisiting over 60 years of personal and professional life, Varda takes us on a journey through her world of unorthodox images.

Two young women become friends in early 1960s Paris. Pomme is an aspiring singer. Suzanne, already a mother of two, is pregnant and unable to support a third child. Pomme lends Suzanne the money for an illegal abortion, but a sudden tragedy soon separates them. Ten years later, they reunite at a protest and pledge to keep in touch via postcard. Both of their lives are irrevocably changed by the women’s liberation movement.

Cléo, a young singer, is waiting for some important X-rays that will be ready at 6:30. Suddenly, she finds herself faced with the prospect of death. Over the course of an hour and a half, she meets with her lover, a pianist, a friend, and then a soldier. She walks and walks, gradually opening her eyes to the world.