Event

Jane B Par Agnes V

Nov 02 - Nov 06

Agnes Varda, 1988, France, DCP, 97 min

Never before released in the US!

Monday, Nov 02 at 03:15PM
Monday, Nov 02 at 07:00PM
Tuesday, Nov 03 at 09:00PM
Wednesday, Nov 04 at 07:00PM
Thursday, Nov 05 at 09:00PM
Friday, Nov 06 at 07:00PM

Out of this collaboration between Agnes Varda and Jane Birkin comes a freewheeling, Felliniesque portrait of the actress, singer, and muse to the new wave. Varda eschews chronology, along with the rest of the biographical documentary format in her search for something true. Barkin, for her part, radiates in her every moment onscreen, rising to this cavalcade of avant-garde with charming ease. She bares everything, and on its route through the surreal, the absurd, through the painfully sincere, this film plunges past psychology into the realm of daydreams. There's a laurel and hardy vignette, a crime caper, descents into dreamscapes, strange histories and weird tales. A recurring feature is the elaborate stagings of classical paintings, with Jane as the subject, questioning the whole genre of portraiture, whether in oils or celluloid. In its aggressive pursuit of the avant garde, the film is hard to summarize. It asks questions of time, love, and truth, all sincerely answered by Birkin as she plays out her dream roles of Calamity Jane and Joan of Arc. Throughout, as both Agnes and Jane discuss onscreen the film they are making, a touching humanity shines through.