Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray

This movie shows us Cléo, a French singer, who is afraid of getting the result of of a test from her doctor. She believes that she has cancer and will die of the disease. We follow her for two hours w...( read more  read more... )hile she cruises through the streets of Paris. At the end, she meets a soldier who is going to the war in Algeria the next day.

Flixster Users

89% liked it

3,809 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

15 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Agnès Varda

Release Date: January 1, 1962

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: May 16, 2000

Stats: 252 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (252)


  • August 10, 2009
    "Cleo from 5 to 7" is the first film from Agnes Varda, one of the darlings of the French New Wave. Varda is still going strong today, winning a Cesar Award in 2009 for a documentary called "The Beaches of Agnes". Formally a photographer, Varda's initial foray into the art of shor...( read more)t film-making was "La Pointe Courte", which is commonly referenced as a precursor to the French New Wave. Varda would marry a fellow director, Jacques Demy ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg") in 1963, and they would remain married until his death in 1990.

    "Cleo from 5 to 7" is set in real time, however it's 90 minutes in length. I guess "Cleo from 5 to 6:30" wasn't as catchy. It tells the story of a pop singer, Cleo (Corinne Marchand), who has been told by a fortune teller that she may have cancer. She has a doctor's appointment at 7:00, and in the meantime we're guided on a tour through her day - from coffee shops to art studios and everything in between.

    Upon the film's initial release, legendary New York Times critic Bosley Crowther argued that the film was too concerned with it's style to be satisfying as a dramatic narrative. It's true that Cleo isn't exactly someone we can instantly fall in love with - she's completely secluded and distancing; an empty shell. She is a product of the people around her - those who doll her up, praise her, take her for granted because of her beauty and fame. It's not until she meets a stranger, a soldier (Parc Monstsouris), that she can have a legitimate conversation. He doesn't hold her on a pedestal and, best of all, he's not aware of her status as a pop star.

    The film is especially noteworthy for a number of significant cameos. In a silent film screened for Cleo by her friends, we see Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina, among others, as actors. The pianist for that same film is none other than Michel Legrand, the three-time Academy Award winning composer. Legrand will go on to write the famous "I Will Wait For You" for Jacques Demy's musical masterpiece, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".

    "Cleo from 5 to 7" is a minor work, but it's enormously satisfying. It captures the essence of these sort of hapless youngsters searching for meaning through the city streets. It's a playful piece, one filled with memorable sights (including a street performer who swallows frogs) and great performances. It's whimsical and breezy, a pleasant company that is able to be stylish and cutting edge without sacrificing it's story.
  • May 16, 2008
    A very charming and humorous tour of 60's Paris as we follow Cleo, a spoiled pop star as she anxiously wait for her medical test result, from going to a fortuneteller to meetings with her boyfriend and composers, to running an errand for a friend. The film has some of the same ki...( read more)nd of spirit as Breathless, only it's far more enjoyable and interesting. It also doesn't hurt that Corinne Marchand is very easy on the eyes.
  • April 22, 2008
    This film starts Cleo off a rich, spoiled brat, and ends up finding both love and a certain joie de vivre (pardon my fronch). Cleo is a beautiful but somewhat shallow pop singer nervously waiting for the results of a cancer test. The film follows Cléo for two hours as she encoun...( read more)ters the important people in her career as well as strangers she meets in between. Real life seems to continue with documentary styled filmmaking that is about looking and being looked at.
  • May 14, 2007
    Awesome intro.
  • June 15, 2008
    This is from the Criterion Film Collection. I guess its because I am not french or maybe its just a bad run of French Films lately but I think I am going to pass on the french films for a while, I tried I really did, good Black and white background scenes, but is was painfull to...( read more) hang in there till the end.
  • November 7, 2009
    While waiting for the result of a biopsy, the French singer Cléo, visits a fortune teller; drinks coffee and buys a new hat with her housekeeper; is visited by her lover and her composers; visits her model friend Dorothée; learning much from her, who poses nude for sculptors, and...( read more) a passing soldier named Antoine whom she meets by accident in the park. We follow her for these two hours of her life, as she cruises through the streets of Paris on foot, by cars and taxis, from one place to the next. She finally, becomes a subject instead of being an object: Cleo's progress through the film develops from an almost narcissistic preoccupation with her own image- the first part of the film is full of mirrors and reflections- through a more direct encounter with that world and its inhabitants.
  • September 20, 2009
    De Agnès Varda, "Cléo de 5 à 7" é sobre uma mulher preocupada com o resultado de uma biópsia, e mostra como são as duas horas que antecedem o recebimento do resultado do exame. É um filme bem espontâneo, simples e interessante de se assistir. Os filmes de Agnès são simples e ao m...( read more)esmo tempo sinceros, e isso me chama a atenção.
  • August 19, 2009
    Straightforward French realism.
  • May 30, 2009
    COMPUTER/LETTERBOX. La fluidez de esta película es extraordinaria. Su propuesta para con el personaje es más poética que analítica, lo cual es positivo. / The fluidity of this film is extraordinary. Its proposition for the protagonist is more poetic than analytical, which is posi...( read more)tive.
  • March 29, 2009
    Mi primer acercamiento a la nueva ola del cine francés llegó con una de las primeras películas de la reconocida directora francesa Agnés Varda.

    Cleo de 5 a 7 (realmente debería llamarse Cleo de 5 a 6:30) narra una bella historia sobre la banalidad de la vida moderna, el sentido...( read more) de la vida y la aceptación de la muerte; todo esto desarrollado en un fantásticamente recreado París del siglo pasado, con la misma escencia inconfundible.

    Cleo es una superficial y supersticiosa cantante que espera preocupada los resultados de un examen médico que podría indicar cáncer.
    Es cuando decide consultar a una adivinadora que le indica que está gravemente enferma, lo que la deprime aún más, la película se desarrolla en las 2 horas consecuentes, que llevan a Cleo a cuestionar la relevancia de todo en su vida y a resignarse ante la idea de morir.

    Es entonces que tras encontrar ánimo en unsoldado a punto de marchar a la guerra, descubre que no tiene cáncer.

    Una película muy realista que prescinde por completo de cualquier elemento fantástico y que nos narra minuto a minuto 1:30 horas de la vida de Cleo.

    La película posee una estética muy buena y un excelente uso de cámara, incorporando todo tipo de planos y tomas que, acompañadas de eun excelente soundtrack, resaltan aún más la identidad de la ciudad luz.
    La trama resulta interesante, aunque algunas escenas son realmente prescindibles y en algunos momentos perdí el interés en la historia.

    Una muy buena actuación de Corinne Marchand y una buena introducción al nuevo cine francés, del que estaré al pendiente en el futuro.

    ****

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Cleo From 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7)" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Moulin Rouge!
    Moulin Rouge! (12%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Cleo From 5 to 7 ... : Watch Free on TV


Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Cleo From 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7). Want to create one?

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?