Varda by Agnès Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Varda by Agnès 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.

Oscar Hammerstein II may have famously exhorted folks to “start at the very beginning” in his memorable lyric for Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music, but with regard to Varda by Agnès it may be more salient to quote the legendary T.S. Eliot: “in my end is my beginning”. This documentary, which Criterion itself advertises as “the final film from the late, beloved Agnès Varda", serves as a rather suitable introduction to Varda for those unacquainted with her, while providing a lot of wonderful whimsy and spunk for those who are acquainted with her. Varda spent some of her last years doing what amounted to “Q & A” sessions with various audiences, and this documentary captures her in front of several such aggregations, as she offers a lifetime of memories and anecdotes in a freewheeling style that is both charming and insightful.

This piece serves as both a wonderful overview of Varda's oeuvre as well as an introduction to her as a person, and in both categories Varda by Agnès delivers copious information, though those who are newcomers to the world of Varda would probably do well to also visit The Beaches of Agnès, also included in this set, as this earlier "autobiographical" documentary may offer a bit more context about both her life and work. While there are of course a lot of film clips and discussions about the films, it's perhaps in more "personal" reminiscences, including some really touching anecdotes about Jacques Demy, that Varda's spirited but still kind of grandmotherly persona fully flowers.

The documentary does move "past" her film work into more artistic pursuits like her (still) photography and even what might be termed some tendencies toward performance art, pursuits that The Beaches of Agnès doesn't really delve into, but that said, some may feel these perceived "sidebars" to Varda's career (even if Varda didn't perceive them as such) may not be as inherently interesting.

Varda by Agnès Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Varda by Agnès is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1, in terms of the contemporary talking head segments, though with a variety of other aspect ratios in terms of some of the film clips included. The contemporary material is all sharp and glossy looking, with really good detail levels on everything from Varda's two toned hair to the purple outfits she regularly wears. Some of the most gorgeously saturated colors in this piece are actually underneath the opening credits, with a truly stunning array of blues, yellows and reds culled from various natural locations. As is discussed in the video reviews of some of the films who are represented by short clips in this documentary, many of them are preceded by rather detailed text cards indicating a lot of them have undergone restoration, often based on their original negatives, to the bulk of these moments also look great, though Varda's use of different formats (she often shot some of her shorts in 16mm) can mean things like thickness of grain and detail levels can ebb and flow at times.

Varda by Agnès Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Varda by Agnès features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that frankly may strike some as needless, given the fact that so much of this piece is simply Varda speaking about her films. That said, the surround track does open up at times, including in some of the talking head sequences, but more noticeably in terms of some of the film clips. Even here, though, engagement of the side and rear channels can be fitful and sporadic. Fidelity is fine throughout, though, and both the contemporary material and all of the film clips feature dialogue (and/or monologue, as the case may be) that is presented cleanly and clearly, with no problems whatsoever. Optional English subtitles are available.

Varda by Agnès Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy (1080p; 17:26), the children of Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, are interviewed in this charming 2020 piece entitled The Art of Family Life. In French with English subtitles.


• Telluride Film Festival (1080p; 29:36) features Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy in conversation with Martin Scorsese and Tom Luddy in 2019.


• Agnes Varda's Credits Sequences (1080p; 8:03) is a visual essay by Alex Villaume-Tylski. In French with English subtitles.


• Sensing Bodies (1080p; 1:50) is a visual essay produced by Trois Coleurs focusing on Varda's love of the human body.


• A Chat With Nini (1080p; 00:30) is a brief piece with Varda talking to (with?) her cat.


• Trailer (1080p; 2:48)


• Janus Retrospective Trailer (1080p; 1:20)

Varda by Agnès Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It was a wise decision for Criterion to put this documentary "up front" in this huge new collection of Varda's works, since it offers a really charming and winning overview and/or introduction to both Varda and her wonderful films. Varda is a bit nostalgic at times, as probably befits her age at the time this was shot, but she offers a wealth of background information on her films, and some really sweet anecdotes about her personal life. Technical merits are solid, and the supplementary package very enjoyable. Highly recommended.