Remembering feminist filmmaker Agnés Varda

Revered French filmmaker and activist Agnés Varda died on March 29. Referred to as the “mother” or “grandmother” of French New Wave cinema, Varda was a pioneering director who influenced a new generation of filmmakers by making movies with feminist themes. She also remained a staunch activist within the women’s movement for the duration of her life.

Varda’s best-known work is Vagabond, a 1985 film that institutes feminist themes in a subversive way. Vagabond follows Mona, a dirty hitchhiker, through her life loafing outdoors up until her death in a ditch (certainly a glamorous box-office narrative). During the first few minutes of Vagabond, Mona rejects the advances of a man who gives her a ride in his car. This simple yet effective action positions her as in control of her sexuality within her narrative, which is not often seen in mainstream film. Later on in her travels, Mona picks up jobs in which male bosses try to change her to fit their own desires, but she refuses to do so and often leaves the job altogether if her bosses reject her independence. Her steadfast nature subverts the male gaze, in turn asking the audience to question their perceptions of her.

Mona’s tale is told through a series of other people’s uncomfortable accounts of their run-ins with her, most of which characterize her as lazy, dirty, crass, extremely strong-willed, and blunt. Varda’s portrayal of a female character not only challenged society’s idealized view of women by rejecting the sexualization of women that has dominated film since its creation but also subjugated the importance of the male gaze.

Agnés Varda also incorporated her personal activism into her films. For example, in 1971, the famed Bobigny trial prosecuted a 16-year-old for having an illegal abortion after she had been raped, and led to the trials of her mother as well as the doctor whoe performed the procedure. In the same year, 343 women, including Varda, responded by signing a manifesto declaring that they had all had illegal abortions. Varda’s association with the manifesto sprung the trial into the public eye, which in turn helped lead to the acquittal of the victims in the case, and eventually to the legalization of abortion in France in 1975. Her influence and importance within the film industry were crucial in the magnitude of the effect the manifesto had on the issue.

Varda’s 1977 “feminist musical,” One Sings, the Other Doesn’t, reflects these events by centering on two women active in the fight for legal abortion in France. The film centers on two women brought together by abortion: Pauline helps her older friend, Suzanne, find someone to perform an illegal abortion, as Suzanne is already a tired, poor mother of two. They are separated and meet later in life, while both protesting the Bobigny trial, highlighting the importance of the trial in both the movie’s narrative and in the fight for legal abortion.

The movie also provides an incredibly valuable perspective on abortion, as it remains pro-choice while also appreciating motherhood. Pauline and Suzanne are both loving and willing mothers, but both have also had abortions and advocate for the right of all women to choose whether to be a mother or not, without the overbearing influence of church and state.

Despite being the first female director to win an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar in 2017, Varda acknowledged until the end of her life that the feminist fight, in society at large as well as specifically in film, was far from over. At the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Varda was one of the driving forces in a protest against gender inequality within the industry. As she has asserted, “In a way we all have a Mona. We have inside ourselves a woman who walks alone on the road. In all women, there is something in revolt that is not expressed.” Varda remains an inspiration to many female filmmakers and should remain an inspiration to feminist activists everywhere.