The Gleaners and I

2000 documentary

Rating: 17/20

Plot: Agnes Varda travels France with her little handheld camera in search of the "another men" who find treasure in one man's trash. She films people who glean for survival, for ethical reasons, and for art.

"A clock with no hands is my kind of thing."

I really think Agnes Varda went into this film with an agenda, a plan. Still, it seems freeform and more like a chronicle or an exploration, and a lot of what is likable about a movie like this is how much of a blast I think she's having making the movie. I've written about funny little Varda here and here, and I'm almost embarrassed by the latter since I wrote it in an apparent whiny mood. Her style here is about the same as The Beaches of Agnes, and it's just as personal although the camera isn't turned on herself nearly as much. She does film her own hand quite a bit though. And when she asks questions like "Where does play end and art start?", it really seems like a personal statement for her. There's a playful quality to this that doesn't take away from its emotional depth or profound themes. She shows footage of when she forgot to turn off her camera and filmed the ground with her lens cap "dancing" around. "The cap had stopped its craziness," she says. She shows footage of random animals that have nothing to do with the documentary subject, and also leaves in this obnoxious guy on the street who saw her camera and started waving. I guess that's what she gleans. This playfulness and willingness to show a lot of the frilly edges, a lot of the minutia that other documentarians addressing a similar subject matter would leave out reminds me of a Werner Herzog or Errol Morris. I was touched and amused by the whole thing. And I learned that Rembrandt sort of looked like Bob Dylan. I had more interests in the artists she interviewed than the people looking for potatoes or radishes in the harvested fields. The guy's totem towers made from trash and doll heads was really awesome. Another guy who made art out of trash was even wearing Zubaz, probably because he knew how to "embrace the awesome." By the way, shop at Zubaz.com today and get yourself a discount on
red, white, and blue things. I was most interested in a guy with a good job/salary who salvages and eats 100% garbage for ethical reasons. He claimed that he hadn't been ill in fifteen years. I also liked the guy who said, "Here's an apple that has nothing going for it. It's like an ugly and stupid woman." And I swear there's a scene where Agnes is rapping. This is well worth seeing.

And hey, if you do buy a pair of Zubaz today, be sure to tell them that I sent you. I appreciate your support.