Cléo de 5 à 7 : (Agnès Varda, 1961) / Valerie Orpen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Orpen, Valerie.

Series:

French film guides series

The French film guides

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cléo de 5 à 7 (Motion picture).

Physical Description:

x, 111 pages : illustrations, map ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2007]

Summary:

Cleo de 5 a 7 (1962) chronicles, in 'real time', ninety minutes in the life of rising pop singer Cleo Victoire, played by Corinne Marchand. Awaiting the results of a biopsy and fearing the worst, the charismatic protagonist seeks solace from a variety of characters on a June afternoon in Paris. Valerie Orpen follows Cleo's journey, providing a fascinating exploration of the film's unusual time structure and evocative mise-en-scene, which captures so vividly the Paris of the early 1960s.

The only product of the French New Wave by a woman filmmaker, Cleo de 5 a 7 is typical of the era stylistically and in many of its themes - Orpen here reveals the subtlety with which director Agnes Varda addresses topical issues such as the Algerian war, fear of cancer and the emptiness of fame. Yet the film also retains a feminine, even feminist, slant unusual for the period, and Varda drew on a wider range of influences, including art and literature, than her cinephile male peers. Orpen tells the story of Varda's unorthodox beginnings as a filmmaker, and looks closely at the similarities and crucial differences between her work and that of her friend Godard and the other directors of the New Wave. Looking finally at critical responses to the film on its release, this lively guide makes clear the reasons why Cleo de 5 a 7 continues to generate discussion and to draw in new audiences.

Contents:

1 Production contexts 3

Agnes Varda's career up to Cleo de 5 a 7, or the game of art and chance 3

The genesis of Cleo de 5 a 7 6

Agnes Varda and Cleo de 5 a 7 in the context of the New Wave 11

Historical contexts: the backdrop of the Algerian war 16

2 Structure, style and themes 22

An unusual narrative structure: 13 chapters in 'real' time 22

A 'subjective documentary': focalisation, character interiority and realism 30

The Spoilt Child, the Maid-cum-Madam and the Chatterbox: characters in Cleo de 5 a 7 38

Cleo de 5 a 7 as a filmic illustration of the Existentialist zeitgeist 48

The loneliness of the flaneuse 55

Paris: city of light and enlightenment 63

Nature and death 66

Nudity and costume, truth and masks 70

3 Reception 81

Box office and reviews 81

A feminist film? 87

Appendix 2 Chapter breakdown 99.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [103]-106) and index.

Includes filmography: pages [101]-102.

ISBN:

9780252032172

0252032179

9780252074585

0252074580

OCLC:

71312892

Online:

Publisher description