LES GLANEURS ET LA GLANEUSE
F 2000 – Director: Agnès Varda – Original language: French – Subtitles: German – Length: 82 min.
The age-old tradition of gleaning, of picking up and using the things that society throws out or leaves behind, is every bit as relevant today as when Jean Francois Millet, in his celebrated painting "Les glaneurs", immortalised three women stooped over the earth, picking up leftovers in a field after the wheat harvest in 1857. In this contemplative film, pioneering filmmaker Agnès Varda seeks out a host of modern-day gleaners in the fields and indeed the cities of France, who through necessity, chance or choice, make use of the detritus of today's throwaway society.
With a sensitive and affectionate approach to her subjects, the 72-year-old filmmaker provides us with a unique perspective on French social history. But Varda's investigation doesn't stop there as she turns the camera on herself and relates the aesthetics and ideologies of gleaning to her own life and creative practice. A piece of film resulting from Varda accidentally leaving her camera on, is gleaned in the editing room and is integrated into the film as a "dance of the lens cap". Part biography, part social commentary, Les glaneurs et la glaneuse is a beautiful, whimsical reflection on life and art.
"Filming, especially a documentary, is gleaning. Because you pick what you find; you bend; you go around; you are curious; you try to find out where are things. But, you cannot push the analogy further, because we don't just film the leftovers." Agnès Varda
German title: Die Sammler und die Sammlerin. Writer: Agnès Varda. Camera: Stéphane Krausz, Didier Rouget, Didier Doussin, Pascal Sautelet, Agnès Varda. Sound: Emmanuel Soland, Nathalie Vidal. Editing: Agnès Varda, Laurent Pineau. Music: Joanna Bruzdowicz. Production: Cine Tamaris. Producer: Agnès Varda. International Sales: Peripher Filmverleih. Distribution: Peripher Filmverleih.
