One Sings, the Other Doesn't

1977 Agnes Varda film

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Covers the years of a friendship between two women in France.

This is the most overtly feminist film I've seen from Agnes Varda. Marriage as prostitution, seemingly throwaway lines like "Men, don't come in so abruptly" during a singing rehearsal, Iranian veils, lots of abortion references, song lyrics about being a woman or being pregnant or being a pregnant woman, the recurring idea of a woman's body belonging to that woman and nobody else. Near the end, a narrator tells us that these women had "fought to gain the happiness of being a woman," a really sadly beautiful idea. At another point, free will is described as "philosophy in action," and part of what makes this so refreshing is how the titular duo--both really, but especially Pauline--make the decisions they want to make. Those decisions might not always lead to happiness, but it doesn't matter so much because the decisions are theirs.

This isn't overtly political exactly despite the feminist angle. Mostly, it's the story of the friendship, one that feels very organic. I love how Varda films these two when they're apart, but I really love what she does when they're together. When they are apart, they exchange postcards, a "bridge in the air" and a "dialogue in the imagination." It's a gimmick that's worked in other movies but really works here to connect these characters and show how they inspire each other. So much of this movie is about being part of a group and women supporting each other.

There are lots of songs in this because as the title says, one of these characters sings. The other doesn't. I thought the songs were quirky and fun, and some of the musical moments in this almost seemed like music videos.

There are lots of references to photography in this, including opening credits which show a series of photographs. A lot of them are sad women, women who have been posed in specific ways or asked to look a certain way. I have a favorite photograph, but I'm not going to talk about which one that is.

One bit of humor I really liked: Pauline is rehearsing this weird skit/song where she's topless and sitting on the shoulders of another person who is hidden beneath a long skirt. Rehearsal time ends, and she slips on a t-shirt to cover her exposed breasts. On the t-shirt? Exposed breasts. I loved that bit of visual humor, but it might have something to do with me liking breasts a lot.