The Beaches of Agnes

Agnes Varda is the narrator of the autobiography/documentary and there are also actual shots of her talking directly to the audience. This sort of one on one conversation with the audience takes you from just a watcher, to a friend hearing her life story. A few times she decided to recreate past scenes of her life. Varda would take a photograph, and make a real life replica complete with actors to play younger versions of herself and others in the pictures. She would then walk through the scene talking about why it was important; it was her way of reconnecting with the childhood that she had lost in the photos. She spent some time telling her story through a series of photos, narrating all the while. Varda also chose to walk backwards during some of her personal interview clips. She said that she did this because she was “telling the story backwards.”

The documentary's style was interesting, but I found the storyline confusing and a bit dry. There were some very interesting parts, but the story switched dramatically and it was hard to follow along with. There were multiple different parts of the story that would pick up and let off with no definite change. I wouldn't say that it was all bad, but it is not a movie I would recommend unless the watcher has a passion for film and photography.

 

Film Facts
Box Office Gross: $239,711 (USA) (22 August 2010)
Runtime: 110 min  Language: French
Release Date: 17 December 2008 (France)
Also Known As: Agnès stränder
Filming Locations: Ancienne Ecole Nationale de Photographie et de Cinématographie, 85 Rue de Vaugirard, Paris 6, Paris, France