#14 Cleo from 5 to 7 (Varda) at BAMPFA
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There are some films on the list that make me pause and wonder: why this one? Sometimes the acclaim feels misaligned with my viewing experience. This is not one of those films.
It’s clear there’s something radical at work here. And that’s Agnès Varda. The diminutive Belgian filmmaker, too often recognized only in hindsight as the “mother” of the French New Wave, brings a perspective that still feels modern. What sets this film apart is how effortlessly it centers women. As a friend of mine noted, it passes the Bechdel Test with ease. This was genuinely revolutionary in 1962... and sadly, is revolutionary even by today's standards. A woman is the focus of the story; the men are just objects drifting in and out, bothersome but inconsequential.
Set in 1960s Paris, Varda seamlessly blends documentary and narrative to trace two hours in the life of a young singer named Cleo awaiting the results of a life-altering biopsy, quietly confronting her own mortality. It's an existential journey that captures Cleo's shift from being looked at to truly looking as we watch her change from a woman who who is admired for her beauty to a woman who sees the beauty of the world.
One of the most striking moments comes at the film’s turning point, when Cléo removes her wig and steps out alone into the streets of Paris. It’s here that she truly begins to see. A street performer swallowing frogs, the faces of strangers she passes on sidewalk, the other patrons of the cafe. No longer as concerned with vanity, Cléo opens herself to the unremarkable beauty of the world as it is and eventually meets someone who brings her hope.
I could name a hundred more reasons that this film belongs on the list. I have yet to see something more intimate, powerful, and inventive.
Fun fact: Look for Varda's influence on Before Sunrise and the rest of Richard Linklater’s Before series.