Vagabond

(Sans toit ni loi, Agnès Varda, France 1985, 105 min., 35mm, French and Arabic w/subtitles)

Agnès Varda: (Self)-Portraits, Facts and Fiction. Found in a ditch, having frozen to death, Mona (Sandrine Bonnaire) is resurrected through the memories of the people she encountered in the weeks beforehand, mostly portrayed by non-actors. Narrative and documentary elements are woven together to construct an incomplete portrait of the enigmatic young vagabond. With height, weight, and eye color recorded, significant moments remain undocumented or unknown and we are left without a hint as to her inner thoughts and feelings. Wandering across the cold, bleak countryside and relying on the kindness of strangers, Mona is unable to make any genuine connections. Existing only in the consciousness of others, she becomes what each person requires of her.

“What a film this is. Like so many of the greatest films, it tells us a very specific story, strong and unadorned, about a very particular person. Because it is so much her own story and does not seem to symbolize anything—because the director has no parables, only information—it is only many days later that we reflect that the story of the vagabond could also be the story of our lives: Although many have shared our time, how many have truly known us?” – Roger Ebert

Presented by Dr. Philippe Chavasse, Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, RIT.