Movie Review - The Beaches of Agnes

Directed by Agnes Varda

I'll be honest here. This was probably the most surreal movie I've seen this year and I'm sure that certain things meant something deep and meaningful, but I absolutely didn't "get" any of that insight while watching this movie. It's essentially a cinematic autobiography of French filmmaker Agnes Varda. She retells the story of her life story by using film clips from her movies (and the movies of other French filmmakers including her husband Jacques Demy) and by creating new scenes to detail her past.

It's all too ridiculous to understand (and it probably didn't help that I had never heard of this woman before stepping foot into the theater). There's some six-foot tall orange wooden-cutout of a cat that interviews her in a Stephen Hawking-type voice. There's a bunch of mirrors set up on the beach to capture...well, I'm not sure what they're supposed to capture. And if you ever wanted to see two naked people nuzzle up to each other while wearing pillow cases over their heads, well, this is the movie for you.

Yet, somehow, I wasn't really bored during this. It ran on about 20 minutes too long, but it was certainly a head trip...and in a good way. Still, I can't really say that I'd recommend this because, although it was certainly interesting to watch, it wasn't exactly what I'd call "enjoyable." That being said, I'm sure the lack of enjoyability stems from the fact that I know next to nothing about Ms. Varda (and my knowledge of French cinema as a whole is very limited...although I did recognize the Umbrellas of Cherbourg clips [which was her husband's film]...see a review of that enchanting film here...). Had I known something about her, I may have at least understood a little more about her surrealistic point of view. And the thing is, unlike the music from the artists showcased in It Might Get Loud where I wanted to learn more about their stuff after I watched the film, I really don't feel the need to rush out and get a trippy Varda film (although I'm not opposed to watching anything of hers).

So, in conclusion, an interesting movie that I really didn't understand all that much.

The RyMickey Rating: C