âÂÂThe Beaches of Agnesâ (Les Plages dâÂÂAgnès), directed by the legendary French filmmaker Agnes Varda, is currently showing at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Quad Cinemas in Manhattan. Agnès Varda is known as the grandmother of French New Wave cinema, though others argue that she was really a member of the Left Bank filmmaking movement. Her style is unique. Varda is not an invisible director, often appearing in front of the camera to explain something or direct her actors. Â
    As a young woman, she studied photography in Paris. When she decided to make her first film, âÂÂLa Pointe-Courte,â she simply pulled together a crew and started filming independently. Her other celebrated movies include âÂÂCleo From Five to Seven,â âÂÂHappiness,â âÂÂOne Sings, the Other DoesnâÂÂt,â âÂÂVagabond,â and âÂÂThe Gleaners and I.”Â
    Varda’s autobiographical film, “The Beaches of Agnes,” opens on a windswept beach in Belgium. We see Agnes Varda directing her assistants to prop up a variety of mirrors in the sand. Varda tells the audience that every person has an inner landscape. Her personal inner landscape is a beach.The mirrors are situated at contrasting angles and reflect bits of the sand, the sea and the sky. The result is a beautifully fragmented image of the shoreline. In the next 109 minutes, Varda will present a cine essay on her life and art, structured around the seaside places of the world where she has had her most significant experiences. She weaves together pieces of her most celebrated films, interviews with friends and colleagues, reenactments of her life, footage of her installation art and even bits of animation to tell her unique and fascinating story.Â
     Varda’s method of story telling is innovative and engaging. Though at times moving and sad, the film has a playful quality that characterizes many of her movies. VardaâÂÂs lightheartedness is refreshing, funny and revolutionary. Her humor never approaches levity, and is intermixed with compassion. Â
    In the past few years, dark and violent movies have flooded the Oscars. Films that combine both tragedy and happiness are more enjoyable and true to life. When discussing her husband, and fellow director, Jacques DemyâÂÂs death from AIDS, grief is plainly written on her face. Yet in mourning Demy, she never forgets the glorious years of their marriage. One thing that makes VardaâÂÂs work so poignant is her ability to express both the fleeting quality of happiness and the preciousness and fragility of life.