The Cinema of Agnès Varda - Directors' Cuts by Delphine Benezet Paperback

Book Synopsis

Agnès Varda, a pioneer of the French New Wave, has been making radical films for over half a century. Many of these are considered by scholars, filmmakers, and audiences alike, as audacious, seminal, and unforgettable. This volume considers her production as a whole, revisiting overlooked films like Mur, Murs/Documenteur (1980-81), and connecting her cinema to recent installation work. This study demonstrates how Varda has resisted norms of representation and diktats of production. It also shows how she has elaborated a personal repertoire of images, characters, and settings, which all provide insight on their cultural and political contexts. The book thus offers new readings of this director's multifaceted rêveries, arguing that her work should be seen as an aesthetically influential and ethically-driven production where cinema is both a political and collaborative practice, and a synesthetic art form.

Review Quotes

A relevant and insightful review of Varda's career thus far.-- "LSE Review of Books"

A solid contribution to the field... Unique in its precision and focus on the evolution of Varda's continual embrace of upcoming artistic media, technological advances, and social inclusion.-- "French Review"

There have been other excellent books on Varda, but this particular text, neatly illustrated with frame blow-ups, and graced with a detailed filmography, is one of the best, and also has the virtue of being the most complete... Pick up a copy now.-- "Frame by Frame"

About the Author

Delphine Bénézet teaches comparative literature in the School of Languages, Linguistics, and Film at Queen Mary, University of London.