The Beaches of Agnes

A delightful and idiosyncratic autobiographical documentary from one of cinema’s greatest directors: Agnes Varda. The Beaches of Agnes combines clips from the director’s own films with imaginative recreations of moments from her life to create a patterned collage of memories and anecdotes (in one instance we see Varda with a cardboard cut-out of a car, recalling how in one of her homes she would have to do a 13-point turn to get her car out each day). The film is also a fascinating insight into the filmmaking community Varda was a part of; from working with Alain Resnais and Jean-Luc Godard during the French New Wave to her marriage with director Jacques Demy which lasted until his death in 1990. It is during the moments when Varda reflects on the relationship with her late husband that the documentary reaches real poignancy. Sincere, intelligent and wonderfully eccentric The Beaches of Agnes is one of the most life-affirming documentaries of recent years.