''Jane B. par Agnès V.'' is a 1988 French

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

film directed by

Agnès Varda Agnès Varda (; born Arlette Varda; 30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019) was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter, photographer, and artist. Her pioneering work was central to the development of the widely influential French New Wave film ...

and starring French-English actress

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin, OBE (born 14 December 1946) is an English-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. She also had a prolific career ...

. The film was conceived when Birkin admitted to Varda she was apprehensive about turning 40 and Varda told her it was a beautiful age and the perfect time to make a portrait on Birkin's life. The film mixes interviews with Birkin about her past and current life with small vignettes where she takes on roles that either she or Varda are interested in seeing her play.

Synopsis

In Varda's own words ''It all began with a letter Jane Birkin wrote me after seeing

Vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, tempor ...

. Written in a moment of emotion, it was illegible. Chicken scratch. I asked her to come decipher for me. We sat in the kitchen. We talked about our children.

Mathieu Mathieu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * André Mathieu (1929–1968), Canadian pianist and composer * Anselme Mathieu (1828–1895), French Provençal poet * Claude-Louis Mathieu (1783–1875), ...

was just over 14.

Lou Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Lou (German singer) *Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most common ...

was four.

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

was 16. We decided to go to the park the following Sunday. We were walking along when she suddenly said "It's terrible. I'm going to be 40!" I said, "Don't be silly. It's a wonderful age. Perfect time to do your portrait. That's how it began.'' ''I suggested to this vivacious and lively woman that we do the opposite of those tributes to deceased actresses that show excerpts from their films and interviews. I said, "We'll show excerpts of films you haven't made, films we've made up, and we'll fabricate some interviews."'' ''It's a surprise portrait, in which Jane plays many roles, including herself, with a variety of partners. She was a good sport. She was funny, strange, magnificent, moving. It's variations on a variable and varied woman.''

Production

The film has a sister project in '' Kung Fu Master''.

Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (; born 21 July 1971) is a British-French actress and singer. She is the daughter of English actress Jane Birkin and French musician Serge Gainsbourg. After making her musical debut with her father on the song " Lemo ...

, Jane Birkin's daughter, later admitted to disliking both the filming of ''Jane B. par Agnès V.'' and ''Kung Fu Master'' as Varda and her film crew remained camped in her home for a year in order to complete the projects.

Reception and release

In 2015 both ''Kung Fu Master'' and ''Jane B. par Agnès V.'' were acquired for U.S. distribution by

Cinelicious Pics Cinelicious Pics is a distribution wing of the post-production company Cinelicious, launched by Paul Korver and Dennis Bartok, former American Cinematheque head programmer. The company was designed to distribute new U.S. and foreign independent f ...

. The films enjoyed a brief theatrical release before being streamed on the movie streaming service

Fandor Fandor is a film streaming service, dedicated to independent films, documentaries, international titles, and classics, and is a division of the American entertainment company, Cinedigm. Relaunched in 2021, Fandor offers thousands of films, rangi ...

. Varda expressed frustration at the film's limited release, saying "I can get the

Palme d’Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

, but I can’t get exhibition, so it’s a contradiction." The film was re-released in North America in August of 2020 by ''

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

'' as part of a box set featuring the complete films of

References

External links

* 1988 films French docudrama films 1980s French-language films Films directed by Agnès Varda 1980s French films {{1980s-France-film-stub