Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962) Review

Title: Cleo from 5 to 7
Year: 1962
Director: Agnes Varda
Country: France
Language: French

With Cleo From 5 to 7, Agnes Varda gives us a unique feminine perspective of day-to- day anxiety. This version of anxiety should not do well in Cinema, because it isn't the slow "descent to madness" that we typically see onscreen. Rather, it is about the angst of health, identity and our main characters' place in the world. 

Cleo (Corrine Marchand), a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.

Told in real-time, the grandmother of the French New Wave Agnes Varda wonderfully constructs a journey of self-discovery set in an elegant Paris backdrop. Her mobile camera, in addition to sporadic jump cuts, create a timeless film that encourages us to find the beauty in our everyday lives. 

Evoking ideas of literary modernism, Cleo From 5 to 7 focuses on the existential human condition and dissects what it means to be human in the Western World. It's funny, dramatic and incredibly heartfelt. Varda's film is effective in demonstrating how an individual can surpass their looking glass self. 

This was a beautiful eye-opening picture that made me reflect upon my own life. Perhaps, like Cleo, I need to do some self-reflection and come at life from a different perspective. I will certainly be revisiting this film for many years to come.