By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Agnès Varda | JR
Starring: documentary
Original language title: Visages villages
Country: france
Year: 2017
Running time: 89
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5598102/reference
Chris says: “Given that 2008’s THE BEACHES OF AGNÈS was supposed to be Agnès Varda’s swan song, we’re just lucky at all to get one more film from the now 89-year-old Godmother of the French New Wave. And while this hybrid documentary/essay piece is cut from the same cloth as its predecessor and 2000’s THE GLEANERS AND I, there’s a twist in the form of a co-director: a 34-year-old Frenchman, photographer and performance artist going by the nom de plume JR. Tall, thin, forever sheathed in sunglasses and porkpie hat, physically he’s nearly the short, rotund, two-tone-haired Varda’s opposite, but as FACES PLACES unfolds, we see that they’re actually kindred spirits.
“The two travel around France in JR’s van, customized to resemble a ginormous Polaroid camera—people can step inside the back to have their picture taken, and a large, paper print spools out from a thin slot on the exterior. From there, JR and Varda plaster the giant portraits on buildings ranging from about-to-be demolished former housing for mineworkers (using a photo of the last remaining resident) to a countryside barn, sheathed in the guise of its owner. As usual with Varda, the film has an ulterior motive, as it also charts her friendship with this younger co-conspirator while ruminating on her illustrious past(drawing parallels between JR and her venerable colleague and former friend, Jean-Luc Godard) and contemplating her own mortality.
“Varda’s puckish whimsy is still intact, but there’s a heightened sense of poignancy in her sustained commitment to create even as her eyesight deteriorates from macular degeneration. Like all of her work, FACES PLACES is disarmingly playful and inquisitive throughout, exuding affection for both art and the human spirit (which JR’s own work/sensibility reflects well.) However, this time there’s also an elegiac undercurrent. It leaves a considerable impression but fortunately, rarely does it obscure the fun stuff. As good as THE BEACHES OF AGNÈS was, this might be even better—for Varda, it’s a delightful farewell. 5 cats“