Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962)
Stars: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray
Runtime: 90 minutes
Synopsis: Cleo, a singer and a hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.
Verdict: It's in its raw simplicity that "Cléo de 5 à 7" managed to capture my heart. My first viewing of it happened to also be my introduction to Agnès Varda's filmography, and I instantly fell in love with the prolific French filmmaker. Divided into several short chapters, the movie follows the titular character in real-time as she awaits medical tests that will determine if she has cancer or not.
A superstitious singer who clearly knows how to enjoy life, Cléo jumps from location to location to kill the time, bumping into a number of characters with whom she has pleasant conversations. And "pleasant" is a keyword here because, despite her actions coming from a place of worry, the film is a surprisingly tranquil watch. In it, Varda paints a gorgeous picture of 1960s Paris's romantic side, which in many ways mirrors Cléo's own personality. As she wanders around with an artist friend of hers, the couple briefly stops at a local cinema where we are treated with one of the movie's highlights: a delightful original silent short starring Jean-Luc Godard, Anna Karina, and Jean-Claude Brialy.
"Cléo de 5 à 7" is more than just a movie, it's a mood. It never fails to put a smile on my face and serves as a great introduction to Varda's work. Its 90-minute runtime will end before you know it, so I recommend giving it a try.
FINAL GRADE: 8/10
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