French director/writer Agnes Varda was an incredible artist and Vagabond is one of her finest works.
Told in a documentary-like style this movie is first and foremost a character study. Our main character is Mona (magnificently played by Sandrine Bonnaire), a young woman who wanting freedom drifts around aimlessly, leaving quite an impression on those who get to know her. She can be selfish, rude, cold and lazy and at first our perception of her is not too kind. Yet as the film goes on we connect with her on a deeper level and while we don't lose sight of her major flaws, we still become attached to her emotionally. We begin to feel devastated by her tragedy (even if it is self imposed) and how fruitless her search for freedom ultimately is. We all like to talk about how if we quit our jobs and left behind all our responsibilities, we could really be free. Yet despite how much Mona talks about her freedom, there is little of it found in her life. Rather all we see is emptiness and loneliness. Whenever this can not help but become somewhat clear to her she must move on to something else, so that it doesn't eat her up. There is something about this very human desire but lack of finding it that can endear Mona to us even if we don't ever admire her.
The documentary-like filmmaking style is perfect for this movie. This is because we are mostly seeing Mona through the eyes of others and how they perceive her. By seeing and hearing their reactions to Mona, we understand who these characters are and who in a sense we ourselves are. Some admire her "freedom" while others view her as a lazy bum. This causes us to look inside ourselves and think about how we would see Mona. would we admire her, be revolted by her, feel sorry for her or be infuriated by her selfishness and laziness. While most filmmakers would have us see the world through Mona's eyes, this film has us see her through the eyes of those she came across, making us as much of observers of Mona as they are and giving us the feeling while we connect with her in some ways we never fully know her. Yet so much of the power and mystery of this film comes from that, as we have to look inside ourselves as much as we have relate to Mona.
This movie is simply an incredible and thought-provoking work of art that feels like no other film I have ever seen. This is a movie that will keep its power over you long after you finish watching it.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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