Varda by Agnès
Cinéart | Release Date: November 22, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Original-CinLiam LaceyDec 5, 2019
Charm, humanity and a passel of filmmaking insights are all here, rewarding both the dedicated fans and newcomers to Varda, who achieved a new level of public profile in her last decade. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. ScottNov 21, 2019
It’s a perfect introduction and a lovely valediction. Read full review
100
CineVueAlasdair BaymanJul 18, 2019
Rendering the passage of time as a painful yet serene experience, Varda by Agnès comprehends what it means to be a human with a natural flair for creative output. Read full review
91
The PlaylistJoe BlessingOct 10, 2019
Even if Varda by Agnes sometimes betrays its roots as a lecture, it’s a touching and memorable reflection on the life and art from a true legend of cinema, one whose ideas are as relevant as ever. Read full review
91
The Film StageRory O'ConnorJul 19, 2019
It is a swan song but not a melancholy tune, more a joyous celebratory coda to the director’s life and work, a film that feels purpose-built to dispel any notions of solemnity around her passing. Read full review
91
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 15, 2019
Watching the 90-year-old filmmaker pick through the scrapheap of her own memories and fashion the bits into a fresh perspective on the relationship between reality and representation, stillness and movement, life and art, it seems that Varda has become something of a gleaner, herself. Read full review
90
Little White LiesAimee KnightNov 30, 2021
A memoir writ in moving image, the film returns to her favourite motifs, such as family, feminism and feeling (in the corporeal sense), to unite Varda’s bountiful output across myriad artforms. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleDec 5, 2019
Varda’s playful tour of her life’s work in the movies is nothing less than an opportunity to get to know one of cinema’s greatest treasures. Read full review
90
Rolling StoneDavid FearNov 27, 2019
Varda by Agnès goes out not with a bang but a graceful farewell, as the director sits on a beach, a sandstorm whipping around her as vows to “disappear in the blur” and slowly fades from the image. Read full review
90
TimeStephanie ZacharekFeb 16, 2019
You’ll learn a lot from Varda’s narration, about filmmaking, about life, about her. If you want to know how to turn scraps into gold, this is the masterclass for you. Read full review
90
Screen DailyWendy IdeFeb 15, 2019
Like much of her digital work in the twentieth century, Varda’s approach here is a kind of expansive introspection; it’s a film which looks both inwards and outwards at the same time. And like Varda herself, it pulls off the combination of a trundling, amiable pace with a biting intellectual acuity. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Tina HassanniaSep 10, 2019
This is a fascinating, informative, and reflective swan song that gives Varda the final word, and some of the due she’s been owed her entire career, as one of the most influential feminist filmmakers. Read full review
85
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeDec 5, 2019
Varda by Agnès makes a fascinating roadmap to a life and to a career in art, offering inspiration both for viewers and for fellow creators. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJul 21, 2019
What’s so invigorating is the way she gives each principle equal weighting, discussing her formal decisions, such as Cléo’s editing or the tracking shots that move right to left in 1985’s Vagabond, with the same intensity and enthusiasm as her more existential motivations (she describes her 1965 summer bummer classic Le Bonheur as “a beautiful summer peach with a worm inside”). Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerJul 19, 2019
The title Varda By Agnès is apt, a portrait that is both expansive and personal, intellectually sharp but full of fun and heart. A film that is both an entertaining gateway and fitting eulogy to a giant talent. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJul 18, 2019
Varda by Agnès is unquestionably one for the fans ... But this film also serves as a tantalising crash-course for newcomers. Read full review
80
CineVueSara MericanFeb 15, 2019
After all the awards Varda has received, and the tomes of literature that others have written on her, Varda by Agnès, aptly titled, is a carefree, bold and resounding attempt to self-define and articulate the themes, concerns and intentions of her work. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonFeb 15, 2019
The director is such an engaging presence onscreen — wry and humane, balancing sly social commentary with a playfully child-like attitude — that even a minor autumnal work like this is still a heart-warming mood-lifter. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 15, 2019
Two hours in this director’s company is a pleasure. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 4, 2019
It’s not her greatest work but it’s warm, witty, and thorough. It’s a little like visiting a beloved old aunt who you suddenly remember has more smarts and creativity — more balls — than anyone else you know. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzNov 22, 2019
Once in a while you encounter a piece that seems like a premeditated farewell — a conscious summing-up of the life and work — whether or not it was intended that way. Varda by Agnès, a combination autobiography and career survey overseen by the filmmaker, is that kind of movie. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeNov 20, 2019
As a result, it isn’t as cohesive or inspired as her penultimate film, the Oscar-nominated Faces Places. But as a parting gift from one of the most singular creative minds of the 20th century, it’s as life-affirming as they come. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeFeb 15, 2019
Slight as a Varda film, but shot through with its maker’s characteristic pluck and whimsy, Varda by Agnès gives her newly recruited fans everything they’ve come to see. Read full review
60
Time OutJoseph WalshJul 18, 2019
It’s an enjoyable primer for audiences who haven’t seen any of her films, while those more familiar with her work will take great pleasure in listening to her musings. Read full review
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