La Pointe Courte

Having worked extensively as a photographer, Varda had no previous filmmaking experience when at age twenty-five she embarked upon her debut feature, a precursor to the New Wave with its naturalism, use of location shooting and of non-professional actors, which was at the time unconventional in French cinema. Set in the titular Mediterranean fishing village, the film chronicles the complex relationship of a young married couple, played by Philippe Noiret and Sylvia Monfort: a native of the area, the man tries to understand his Paris-born wife’s feelings of dissatisfaction and isolation. Anticipating the attitudes and style that would become prevalent in the New Wave, the film remains fresh and original.