Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Le lion volatil Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 31, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of The Complete Films of Agnès Varda.

In the wake (figurative or otherwise) of Agnès Varda’s death last year at the age of 90, quite a bit has rightfully been written about this iconic force in both French and global cinema. Varda’s output includes well over fifty credits as a director (including some television entries as detailed by the IMDb), and aside from listing some of her better known triumphs, many obituaries and/or eulogies about Varda mentioned any number of other biographical data points, including her rather unique position as a woman in France’s nouvelle vague movement, her own feminism which was featured none too subtly in some of her films, and her frequently provocative experimental style. But you know what one of the things that kind of fascinates me personally most about Varda? That she was married for 28 years to Jacques Demy, from 1962 until Demy’s death in 1990. That Varda, often a purveyor of verité infused “realism”, whether that be in outright documentaries or at least ostensibly more “fictional” outings, and Demy, a director whose candy colored, dreamlike and at least relatively "Hollywoodized" musicals with Michel Legrand brought a new luster and gloss to French cinema, managed to make a marital go of it for so long is certainly testament to the maxim that “opposites attract”, even if those oppositional forces in this instance played out at least in part in terms of what kinds of films the two were often best remembered for. If Varda's long marriage to Demy is more than enough reason to celebrate her personal life, her professional life is beautifully feted in this rather astounding new set from Criterion, which aggregates an amazing 39 films (albeit some running as short as a few minutes) to provide what is arguably one of the most insightful overviews of Varda's cinematic oeuvre. Perhaps unavoidably, but also undeniably movingly, these personal and professional sides of Varda merge in at least some of the films in this set, including The Young Girls Turn 25, The World of Jacques Demy, Jacquot de Nantes, and The Beaches of Agnès.

Le lion volatil is a relatively late short by Varda that sees her once again just flirting with what might almost be termed magical realism, as she ventures out and about in the same 14th arrondissement she featured so memorably in Daguerréotypes. Here Varda offers a few historical tidbits as she does in some of her more traditional documentaries, but these are put forth in an overall context involving a perhaps magically empowered woman named Clarisse (played by Julie Depardieu) who is prone to visions. This may ultimately not be one of Varda's more memorable shorts, but it has its own weird, almost dreamlike, ambience.

Le lion volatil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Le lion volatil is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.89:1. This is frankly one of the odder looking presentations in this collection, and unfortunately there's no prefatory text disclosing what element was used, the original format, or any restoration that may have been done. The IMDb lists a 35mm source, and at least parts of this presentation look traditionally "filmic", with a noticeable grain field, nicely vivid palette and generally commendable detail levels. But there are other moments that look like video (not just an opening which obviously is a home video Varda took of her cat), including the closing credits, which almost look upscaled, with noticeable stairstepping and haloing.

Le lion volatil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with many of the shorts included in this collection, Le lion volatil features only a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Both some opening narration and later dialogue, along with a jazzy underscore, all sound fine within a lossy context. The outdoor material features decent clarity in its rendition of bustling urban sounds. Optional English subtitles are available.

Le lion volatil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction from 2007 (1080i; 1:44) offers Varda's comments. In French with English subtitles.

Le lion volatil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Le lion volatil is another whimsical Varda short, but it may not have quite the magic of some of her other pieces, something that may be a bit ironic considering its emphasis on clairvoyance, Tarot and other "supernatural" phenomena. Video is a bit variant looking, and this is another short with only lossy audio.