The Beaches of Agnès (2008)

On the cusp of her eightieth year, Agnès Varda embarks on a deeply personal exploration of her past. Born in Belgium, she has lived in Sète, Paris, and Noirmoutier, each place leaving an indelible mark on her life. The Beaches of Agnès follows her journey from a young girl discovering the power of photography, to a pioneering filmmaker riding the wave of the French New Wave, to a mother raising children alongside her beloved Jacques Demy, to an older woman wrestling with his loss and the inevitable march of time. Varda's voyage into her past is not a simple retelling. Instead, she paints a vivid tableau of her life, employing photographs, film clips, home movies, and contemporary interviews. Each medium is carefully curated and interwoven to capture not just a moment in time, but the very essence of her experiences. Varda also constructs unique set pieces, each one a manipulation of space and time crafted to encapsulate a specific feeling, a precise moment, or a cherished memory. Her impish charm, her innovative spirit, and her profound empathy illuminate every scene, every story she shares. She grapples with the universal questions of aging, the endurance of loss, the continuity of creativity, and the complexity of memory. To her, memory is a chaotic swarm of confused flies, and she invites us to delve into the buzzing confusion of her own. The Beaches of Agnès is not merely a biographical documentary; it is a journey into the heart of a remarkable woman, a love letter to life and art, and a testament to the beauty and resilience of the human spirit.

The Beaches of Agnès is a documentary movie featuring Agnès Varda.

The Beaches of Agnès is currently streaming for free (ad-supported) on Kanopy and it's also available on Criterion Channel and DocAlliance Films.

It is also possible to rent The Beaches of Agnès on DocAlliance Films.