La pointe courte

At the time of its release, much was made of the fact that La Point Courte was directed by a mere 25-year-old girl. That girl was professional photographer Agnes Varda, later hosannahed by aficionados as The Grandmother of the New Wave. Covering a wide ranging of sociopolitical issues, Varda's first cinematic effort, reportedly lensed on a budget of $20,000, is virtually two films in one, developed in parallel fashion. The twin storylines concern the simultaneous efforts of a husband and wife to mend their broken marriage, but Varda's interests clearly lie in what occurs around the two plotlines rather than the linear progression of the stories themselves. Edited by Alain Resnais, La Point Courte was initially dismissed by some shortsided American critics as being too arty; it has since been assessed by one critic as the first film of the French nouvelle vague. Its interplay between conscience, emotions and the real world make it a direct descendant of Hiroshima, Mon Amour.