Anne G
A really touching and real movie about a young woman who is an aspiring, somewhat successful pop-singer but has found out she may have cancer, the film tracks two hours before she gets her final diagnosis. Those around her mostly respond with a mixture of humoring her and outright minimizing her fears ... as she gets further away from those in her inner circle, she gets slightly more support, until finally it is an unknown soldier on leave from Algeria who escorts her to the hospital to find the news - he cannot stay to be with her, but is the most real contact she has, accepting her fear and not mocking it [likely because he's in a different world, of war, and focused on real things, not what song will sell best or what hat is appropriate for summer]. What's shocking is reading the original 1962 reviews, mostly from male reviewers, calling the protagonist a "girl" and "selfish child" while describing the actress as "plump" and "leaden" or criticizing the director for not developing the story enough and showing too much random street action. [The lead actor is beautiful and not at all "plump," lol, re leaden - I mean, how are you supposed to be waiting for a cancer diagnosis?] To me this film seems completely contemporary, anyone who's had a health scare for themselves or a loved one can relate to the sense of disassociation/lack of connection ... the killing of time, nervous wanting to get out of petty day to day obligations and search for connection. It's a very sensitive and well-made film.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/26/23
Full Review
Brian M
It's brilliantly conceived and directed, with some of the best editing choices I've seen in a film. The only knock I have is the third act drags a bit. Otherwise, it is worthy of being considered one of the greatest films of all time.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Nawt W
The gorgeously filmed story invites you to spend time with Cleo while she tries to distract herself from thinking about her supposed illness by any means necessary. It is lamentable that the movie never really tries to induce any anxiety over this. Cleo, on the other hand, is more concerned with her buyer's remorse over her appearance in that quirky 1960s-style feminism, where everyone began pretending that simple human vanity is some sort of patriarchal meme, and I guess society convinced everyone that caring about your image somehow keeps those same conceited people from living to their full potential.
What I like to interpret her Paris search as is Cleo trying to find anyone who cares about her misery but finding no solace because even dazzling beauty is just a woman in a crowd. And the most apparent and strong theme is how no one really tries to evaluate their lives until they actually start staring into death's face. Again, how Varda intended this variation on "The Death of Ivan Ilych" to be primarily about the evaluation of women caring about their exteriors that is somehow imposed by men is questionable to me.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
zeynep b
I love the documentary elements of this film, where we see real Parisians in their daily lives. Also, what an enterence scene!
It is a story of a selfish, arrogant and newly popular singer, and her fear of death. All of her spoiled, killjoy attitude get even more rewarded by the people she has, who are revolving around her: her maid/manager, her boyfriend, the pianist... She is encapsuled herself in a world, in which everybody is using each other. In this emotional delusion, she hits to the reality: the fear of death. Only a real and sincere person, who is ignorant to her fame could make her alive again.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Antonio F
So intense and beautiful directed.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/03/22
Full Review
Audience Member
The premise is interesting, some of the themes are promising, and the short homage to silent comedies through Raoul's film is fun. However, it's rather uneventful, the slow tempo occasionally renders it a little dull, the incidents depicted feel disjointed, none of the actors stand out, the protagonist's anxieties and phobias and the backdrop of the Algerian War aren't fully exploited, the dialogues can be mundane, and the finale lacks the meticulous character growth that would make it resonate.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
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