Cleo from 5 to 7

France / 1961 / B&W Color / 90 min / 35mm
In French with English subtitles
Director : Agnès Varda
19/1 (Sat) 4:00pm，agnès b. CINEMA

This is Varda’s second feature, and considered as her first work of feminist cinema. This film is about the two hours life of Cleo, a French singer, who is waiting for the results of a medical test that will possibly confirm a diagnosis of cancer. After visiting the fortune-teller, Cleo is convinced that she is doomed. Cleo ponders the meaning of life and her own existence as she wandering around Paris. She starts to realize that appearance is not as important as she thought. Therefore she puts on a black dress, takes of her wig, and tried to see things from a different perspective. Varda was able to gain fame around the world after the huge success of Cleo from 5 to 7. The smartly constructed title sequence enables audience to feel what Cleo is feeling. Audience thus can easily identify with Cleo and go through the two hours long awakening journey to feminist awareness and her realization of identity.

Nominated for "Palme d'Or", Cannes Film Festival 1962
"Best Film", French Syndicate of Cinema Critics 1963