Jane B. by Agnès V.

Agnès Varda decides to make a portrait. Her subject is Jane Birkin and the film will describe a woman approaching forty. But it does not become a straightforward documentary. Varda asks her questions, Birkin answers, and the film stops between them; the two argue about what should be shot. Then scenes are staged: Birkin steps into a painting, puts on costumes, plays other characters and appears in short scenes in different genres. From time to time the camera stops looking at her and turns to something else. Agnès Varda writes and directs. The film dates from 1988. It stands between a portrait and an essay; Varda takes both her subject and her own method as the subject. The paintings staged in it were chosen from art history and each was prepared separately. Varda made another film with Birkin in the same period and the two are spoken of together. The matter it builds is being the one looked at; Birkin describes how she sees herself and the camera keeps breaking it. The structure is episodic and no logic is looked for in the order. Jean-Pierre Léaud and Philippe Léotard appear in short passages. Who it is for: viewers who like Varda and essay films. Who it is not for: the structure is loose, there is no narrative, and the film asks patience of the viewer.