Agnès Varda Explained - Classic French Cinema

Everything you need to know about Agnes Varda explained in 3 minutes!

Agnes Varda is one of the most influential members of the French New Wave and this video highlights some of the key elements of her filmography. Her films are a piece of Classic French Cinema that should never be forgotten.

This video should be enough to help you out if your professor assigns some reading on Varda's life or an essay and you don't have the time to watch most of her films.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the clips from Agnes Varda's Films.

Film overlay provided by:

[wlouisharris]

Filmakers like Varda were so far ahead of their time. As we lose some of these great filmakers it's like we only had them for a blink of an eye and did not get the full body of their potential work. I really like Vagabond. It's truly a cinematic work of art. There were truly some great independent films from the 80's and 90's.

[Beeznitchio]

Dang. This was exactly the kind of video I was hoping for when I searched her name on YouTube. It was so perfect that I excitedly went to see what other videos the channel had, to my dismay, this is it.

[Zack_from__to_]

Le Bonheur is also one of her masterpieces

[tiaelisabeth]

Don't forget about her brilliant films of the 1980s -- arguably her best, in my view: Vagabond, Documenteur, Mur Murs, Ulysses. Her greatest concern across all of her films is really the practice of image-making itself and of course, empathy for her subjects.

[ecspeaks]

Thank you for this concise and insightful lesson. I look forward to seeing more from you. You have inspired me to watch Cleo!

[nahumgale]

Love her short film work primarily. Uncle Yanco and Black Panthers have always been favourites.

[frednolasco]

Just watched vagabond. Very very powerful film making.

[TheLibraryOfEmotions]

Thank you for your explain and your video, I learned more about Agnes from you.｡◕‿◕｡

[biaferre]

great intro to one of the most influential french directors

[blipblip]

I'll have to look into her movies since I've enjoyed samples of various "French New Wave" film over the years. Never heard the name until a few dozen clicks backwards on YTube on a search for Godard themes.

[davidburke]

I had lunch with madame Varda in April, 1993, Albany State University Patroon Room restaurant. I had a Waldorf Salad. I forgot what Agnes had.

[djstarsign]

Demy wasn’t technically part of the New Wave, neither was Varda, but they were from the same region and time period. Her style was a blend of documentarian observation merged with scripted storytelling and an emphasis on humanity. Even in Vagabond, a tragic story about an unsympathetic drifter, she captures small moments of humanity and even humor. Cleo from 5-7 is about a self-absorbed singer who is passing the time as she waits to receive the results of a health checkup and she’s convinced that the tarot reading has foretold an unfortunate result. Yet the film is shot in a way that feels like a travelogue around the city, taking excursions and deviations in a way that feels both familiar yet completely new and singular. Her documentaries and short films are full of joy as she injects her own perspective on a number of different subjects whether it’s meeting a relative in California, getting to know “gleaners”, her “vlogging series” meeting different artists and filmmakers. Her voice is such a breath of fresh air no matter her subject or format.

[wiseguychampia]

I just recently watch her film "Le Bonheur" and it uses colors as some kind of meaning.

Do you guys know???

[pete]

fwiw, all of Varda's films, with extras, now streaming on The Criterion Channel, June 2021.

[edokacej]

Please continue (if possible) - with other directors

[shreyanarayanan]

Salut les Cubains is my favourite short of hers! Check out Le Bonheur as well! I watched Jane B par Agnes V but I couldn’t really make sense of it, I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on it!

[muzmix]

A superior cinematographer 🎥🎞️check out "Le Bonheur"...

[MickHuerta]

Well done! However, "Ah-n-yes" is closer to the French pronunciation.

[AgnesSullivan]

If you're going to make a video "explaining" Varda, learn to pronounce her first name correctly.