Vagabond = Sans toit ni loi

Vagabond (Sans Toit Ni Loi) is considered by many to be one of Agnes Varda’s finest works and a classic of the nouvelle vague tradition of filmmaking. This is a coldly beautiful film that tells the story of Mona (Sandrine Bonnaire), a wanderer who moves from town to town living in her tent or with whoever will take her in. The film opens with Mona’s frozen body found lying in a ditch and proceeds to trace her story in a series of flashbacks to the point of her death. Bonnaire gives an impressive performance of the cold, and not completely likeable Mona, who remains distant to the people she meets and also the audience. Her distance intrigues on many levels. She talks of hoping to one day own a piece of land, and then later wishes to be the caretaker of a house. Given the opportunity for both, she moves on, seemingly unable to live anything but a nomadic existence. Rather than being a free spirit living a romanticised life free of society’s chains, Mona’s existence seems meaningless and emotionally void. Varda’s early career as a photographer is evident in her use of elegant framing and striking spacialization. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and earned Sandrine Bonnaire a French Cesar award. Pauline Kael describes Varda thus: “A full-fledged visual filmmaker…Varda sustains an unsentimental yet subjective tone that is almost unique in the history of movies”. In French with English subtitles.