Cléo de 5 à 7

The world certainly does not revolve around Cleo in Cléo de 5 à 7 by Agnes Varda.

This is beautifully staged in an ongoing mise-en-scène. The main character Cleo walks through the city while trying to mentally distract herself from fears of a medical test result. In one of the most memorable shots, Cleo is in the store front of a hat shop. As she peruses an array of hats, the viewer is detached from her every move. This is because the camera’s focus is intentionally set on the reflection of the street. In this reflection buses and cars speed by and pedestrians scat about. This motif of life’s contiguous motion’s and struggles is also reflected in the sound.

In one particular scene, that not only exposes the vibe of a local café in Paris but also Cleo’s fixation on vanity, the sound plays the mortar of this motif. After Cleo decides to play one of her own songs on the jukebox, the sound is saturated by miscellaneous conversations that range from relationship matters to the Algerian War which took place during the creation of this film. The most amusing commentary was someone referring to Cleo’s song as noise.

This film is not only visually pleasing but philosophically interesting. It caused me to consider the significance of an small individual in a large world. At the end of the day, no matter what is on my mind, life goes on in the city and everywhere else for that matter.