Jane B. par Agnes V.

An exemplary feminist work, one in which two female artists, self-aware but hardly self-conscious, create beauty by exchanging notes.
-- Glenn Kenny, New York Times

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Jane B. par Agnes V.

“I’ll look at you, but not at the camera. It could be a trap,” whispers Jane Birkin shyly into Agnès Varda’s ear at the start of JANE B. PAR AGNÈS V. The director of CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 and VAGABOND once again paints a portrait of a woman, this time in a marvelously expressionistic way. “It’s like an imaginary bio-pic,” says Varda. Jane, of course, is the famed singer (“Je t’aime … Moi non plus”), actress (BLOW UP), fashion icon (the Hermes Birkin bag) and longtime muse to Serge Gainsbourg. As Varda implies, JANE B. PAR AGNÈS V. abandons the traditional bio-pic format, favoring instead a freewheeling mix of gorgeous and unexpected fantasy sequences. In each, Jane inhabits a new character, playing a cat & mouse game with Varda as they explore the role of the Muse and the Artist, all the while showcasing the multifaceted nature of Birkin’s talent. “I’d like to be filmed as if I were transparent, anonymous, like everyone else,” says Birkin. But her wish to be a “famous nobody” is impossible to achieve; Birkin is simply too magnificent, too mesmerizing. Here, Varda’s signature mix of aesthetic innovation and generosity of emotion results in a surreal and captivating essay on Art, Fame, Love, Children and Staircases. For its first-ever U.S. theatrical release the film has been newly-restored from the original 35mm camera negative, overseen by director Varda herself.

“JANE B. PAR AGNES V. was a game that explored how we could be represented, and a touching way of presenting Jane Birkin with truth and imagination.” - Agnès Varda
Not Rated
Genre
Bio-pic, Fantasy
Runtime
97
Language
French
Director
Agnès Varda
Cast
Jane Birkin, Philippe Léotard, Serge Gainsbourg, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mathieu Demy

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