The Beaches of Agnès (2008)
"Les plages d'Agnès" (original title)

Agnès Varda explores her memories, mostly chronologically, with photographs, film clips, interviews, reenactments, and droll, playful contemporary scenes of her narrating her story.

Director:

Agnès Varda

Writer:

Agnès Varda

Stars:

Agnès Varda, André Lubrano, Blaise Fournier

7 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Agnès Varda	...	Herself
André Lubrano	...	Himself
Blaise Fournier	...	Himself
Vincent Fournier	...	Himself
Andrée Vilar	...	Herself
Stéphane Vilar	...	Himself
Christophe Vilar	...	Himself
Rosalie Varda	...	Herself
Mathieu Demy	...	Himself
Christophe Vallaux	...	Himself
Mireille Henrio	...	Herself
Didier Rouget	...	Himself
Anne-Laure Manceau	...	Agnès Varda jeune
Gérard Ayres	...	Himself (as Gerry Ayres)
Jim McBride	...	Himself

Storyline

At nearly 80, Agnès Varda explores her memory - growing up in Belgium, living in Sète, Paris, and Noirmoutier, discovering photography, making a film, being part of the New Wave, raising children with Jacques Demy, losing him, and growing old. She explores her memory using photographs, film clips, home movies, contemporary interviews, and set pieces she designs to capture a feeling, a time, or a frame. Shining through each scene are her impish charm, inventiveness, and natural empathy. How do people grow old, how does loss stay with them, can they remain creative, and what do they remember? Memory, she says, is like a swarm of confused flies. She envisions hers for us.

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Plot Keywords:

memory | interview | film clip | photograph | reenactment | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site (English) Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

17 December 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

As Praias de Agnès

Filming Locations:

Ancienne Ecole Nationale de Photographie et de Cinématographie, 85 Rue de Vaugirard, Paris 6, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,948 (USA) (7 August 2009)

Gross:

$239,711 (USA) (20 August 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ciné Tamaris, arte France Cinéma, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 118156.

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Connections

Edited into Film socialisme (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Maréchal nous voilà!
Music by André Montagnard and Charles Courtioux
Lyrics by André Montagnard
éditions musicales du Ver Luisant
(1941)

User Reviews

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

This movie is so far beyond what could be considered,'Documentary', that the film exists in entirely new cinematic terrain. Agnes Varda has spent her life portraying Life with an artistic skill and wit that is second to none. She has created a body of work, both as a photographer and a film maker that will be viewed and celebrated as long as there are humans on the planet. And, now with, THE BEACHES OF AGNES, she tackles the presentation of her own personal story, not within the confines of, 'Realism', but in full-blown, 'Surreal Mode'. Each and every shot in this film is a joy to behold- Awe inspiring and playful simultaneously. Sound, or the lack there of, also adds an additional perspective which has a way of pulling the viewer deeper into the startling images and compelling narrative structure. THE BEACHES OF AGNES is one of the best films I have seen in a long while, and I am positive that I have never seen anything quite like it. A Must See.