Les Plages d'Agnès (The Beaches of Agnes) (2008)

96% of critics liked it
(67 reviews)
85% of users liked it
(1,043 ratings)

Produced and directed by French Left Bank giant Agnès Varda as a summation of her long and enduring career, Agnès' Beaches constitutes a free-floating essay film. It is comprised of various elements that collectively pay homage to Varda's past -- including clips from the director's features,… More Produced and directed by French Left Bank giant Agnès Varda as a summation of her long and enduring career, Agnès' Beaches constitutes a free-floating essay film. It is comprised of various elements that collectively pay homage to Varda's past -- including clips from the director's features, dramatically reconstructed moments from Varda's life, and elaborate, almost baroque monuments created onscreen to symbolize specific ideas and concepts -- such as an opening scene with a number of individuals setting up mirrors of various shapes and sizes on a great beach, and an enclosure lined, from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, with film strips from Varda's only cinematic flop, the 1969 feature Les Creatures. Varda uses beaches throughout the narrative as a recurring structural motif to convey her progress from one stage of life to another, while the freedom of form on display here recalls a similar approach on display in earlier Varda works such as the 1991 Jacquot de Nantes. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Agnès Varda
Genres: Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Art House & International

In Theaters: Sep 3, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Feb 22, 2010
Studio: Cinema Guild

Critic Reviews

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
The Beaches of Agnes is a work of delightful contradictions from a filmmaker who has always played by her own rules.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Filmmakers don't usually do documentaries about themselves, but Agnes Varda's The Beaches of Agnes is good enough to start a trend.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Varda recalls her childhood, her adulthood, her politics, and how both her films and her two children were born. She doesn't just show us, she takes us inside of it all, inside of her. It's a reverie.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
When was the last time you saw a world-renowned director converse with a cartoon cat or dress as a potato?
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
A captivating cine-memoir, impressionistic and surrealistic, surveying Varda's formidable career as a still photographer, filmmaker, documentarian, and life force.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
In this visually witty 2008 memoir she's poring over her own past and its artifacts.
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Inventive look at Varda's life, films, photos and art.
Jeffrey Chen, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
We should all be so lucky to have the chance to make movies about our own lives when we're much older; and as one of the lucky ones, Varda wastes no opportunity to provide a fun, humble, and shining entry.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The uplifting meandering piece on the likable eccentric filmmaker, Varda, is self-reflective, poignant and heartfelt.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
...[Varda proceeds] diagonally and discursively through her life and work while intermingling clips from her films, archival footage, and tongue-in-cheek reenactments...
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
As evidenced in The Beaches of Agnès, Varda is too venerable to be hip -- and too wholly alive to be venerated.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
You might not be able to write a book report on Varda after seeing her movie, but you do feel like you've spent a long, leisurely afternoon with her.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's a unique, funny recollection of a life, through memories and moments.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
A puckish, moving and wonderfully eccentric tour through her life.
Jon Fortgang, Film4
A deftly assembled, wry and touching self-portrait of Agnès Varda as both a filmmaker and an endearing, indomitable spirit.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
A witty and engaging cine-autobiography.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
A touching, highly whimsical journey down memory lane.
Edward Porter, Times [UK]
Although you will get more out of this self-portrait if you're a film-lover, it can be enjoyed simply for its touching, eloquent reflections on life in general.
Sophie Mayer, Little White Lies
It's impossible not to open your heart to this film.
Tom Dawson, Total Film
Poignant and illuminating, it's also suffused with Varda's playful, eccentric spirit.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Robert C

Though probably not for everyone...I found this autobiographical documentary to be totally engaging and beautifully pieced together. Varda is a delightful mixture of eccentric teacher, quirky but loving grandmother and sublime artist with an eye for the abstract, but remarkably… More
Though probably not for everyone...I found this autobiographical documentary to be totally engaging and beautifully pieced together. Varda is a delightful mixture of eccentric teacher, quirky but loving grandmother and sublime artist with an eye for the abstract, but remarkably down to earth. All of these characteristics are reflected in this lovingly created homage to her friends, family, life and art. A most see for fans of the French New Wave, the art of Documentry film making or just charming creative people.
Eric B

French director Agnes Varda has an endearing, comfortable way of making a film seem like a spontaneous inspiration. It's as if she's shooting in real time and just following whatever tangent occurs to her in the moment. In the case of the autobiographical "The Beaches… More
French director Agnes Varda has an endearing, comfortable way of making a film seem like a spontaneous inspiration. It's as if she's shooting in real time and just following whatever tangent occurs to her in the moment. In the case of the autobiographical "The Beaches of Agnes," the story effortlessly skips between flashback recreations, scenes from her past work, present activities (her 80th birthday party is the climax) and surreal set pieces. But how much you enjoy the movie will depend a lot on how interested you already were in her life. She has known a slew of famous artists, and she obviously still grieves her late husband, director Jacques Demy ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," "Lola," "Donkey Skin"). She's a whimsical, funky lady with a youthful spirit. But her droll self-tribute is a bit indulgent, and not as academically informative as it could be. Still, you might pick up a few rental ideas. (Are "Les Creatures" and "Lions Love" really as lame as she says?)
Walter M

Leave it to Agnes Varda to make a video memoir as surreal and irresistibly bittersweet as "The Beaches of Agnes" is. Aided by Chris Marker disguised as a grinning cat, and illustrated by reconstructions and clips from her movies, identifying personal and political… More
Leave it to Agnes Varda to make a video memoir as surreal and irresistibly bittersweet as "The Beaches of Agnes" is. Aided by Chris Marker disguised as a grinning cat, and illustrated by reconstructions and clips from her movies, identifying personal and political influences along the way, where she always favored the outsider. This is an immensely personal journey, starting with the beaches where she played as a girl(water is a constant through her life) and the house where her family lived in Brussels. Like many others, her childhood was interrupted by World War II. Old friends are remembered, those alive and no longer here, especially Jacques Demy, the love of her life, who she raised two children with, now both grown. So much is gone forever but also so much preserved for the video camera.
Christopher B

Well done doc about the grandmother of the French New Wave, Agnes Varda. Told like a memoir, the film really picks up steam about the half way mark where it goes beyond her life and into her films. An interesting watch.