Daguerréotypes

As a result of a Californian sojourn and the demands of raising a family, the ‘70s was a less prolific period for Varda. Proving herself as adept and imaginative as always, she turned the limitations placed upon her by caring for son Mathieu, then two years old, to her advantage; this documentary was entirely filmed within the maximum distance the power cables for her equipment would allow, a matter of a few hundred feet from her home. Asking shopkeepers and their customers, as well as random passers-by, the same three questions, Varda elicits a wide range of responses, making for a charming, funny, and moving portrait of the human life outside her door.