Life often resembles a roller-coaster ride. While anyone will indulge in the time of their lives, do you have the courage to face the negative pitfalls that lurks around every corner? The most exciting 2 hour period for a character is probably embodied in the iconic film from the French filmmaker Agnes Varda - 'Cleo From 5 to 7' (1962)!
Originally, I plan to write about 'Le Bonheur', another of Varda's masterpiece, and mention 'Cleo from 5 to 7' in the article. Yet after some careful thought, I feel that 'Cleo' is a film that is so inspiring and thoughtful that it deserves an article by itself, and I will leave 'Le Bonheur' for the next time. Agnes Varda is one of the key filmmakers of the Left Bank group in the French New Wave of the 1960s. Beginning as a photographer, Varda has instilled an original and often experimental style in her films. While her films often provided critique on the social aspect of life, Vader's style is also noted for a feminist perspective, and that is more relevant for 'Le Bonheur' and only briefly explored in 'Cleo'. She is considered as one of the pioneers who has inspired the commencement of the general 'French New Wave'. It is worth noting that 'Cleo from 5 to 7' has a running time of about 90 minutes, suggesting the story unfolds almost in real time, and that kind of drives the audience into the film, as one can easily step into the protagonist's shoes and has a first-hand experience for the whole scenario.
'My name is Florence. I'm called Cleo, short for Cleopatra.'
The story concerned Florence 'Cleo' Victoire, a lounge singer in Paris. At 5 p.m. of a certain June 21, Cleo was extremely distressed. Because in an hour and a half (6:30 p.m.), she would be notified of whether she has got cancer or not. While a fortune teller failed to tell her a definite answer, Cleo waited for the impending potential doom that would soon follow. Unfolding almost in real time, we followed Cleo's transformation in terms of worldview and how she confronted mortality and the fear of uncertainty. As the story progressed, Cleo became more capable to treasure every moment with those around her, and she even befriended a soldier before they set off to hear the final judgment together. I won't tell you the outcome - that is for you to discover it yourself.
Varda's iconic film is a combination of realism and more philosophical theme such as existentialism. She has naturally placed a lot of issues of that era throughout the film, through the conversations and the things Cleo observed. Yet, the most important theme of 'Cleo from 5 to 7' is an existential one - the meaning of life, especially when one is facing mortality. The whole film represents the enlightenment of Cleo, how she has changed her personality to accept the truth of existence.
At the beginning of the film, Cleo was portrayed as a self-obsessive young lady. When she was aware of the fact that was a 50-50 for her diagnosis, she tried to reassure herself of her own beauty, and things would be OK. Certainly, there is no way that such a childish act can console her troubled mind. The psychological stress from the fear for death was too much for her unprepared mind, and she eventually cried for that in public. Indeed, the theme of mortality is an important one the existentialist school of thought, especially for French philosophers such as Sartre and Camus.
Yet an emotional outpouring could only relieve the stress for a short while. The important aspect is to change the point of view when you perceive something. Of course, the transformation starts from a primitive level. When Cleo experienced discomfort, very likely due to her stressful situation, she attributed that to her cancer. The false attribution is often a self-defensive mechanism when one experiences failure and bad luck ('oh, because I am bad' or 'I am just unlucky'), because that gives someone the easy way out and not analyzing why the negative scenario happens in the first place. At the same time, Cleo also had to come to terms with her identity in the society. She had a false belief that she was seeking attention when she told others regarding her worries for her cancer diagnosis. Later, when a mirror was broken, she took that as an omen of her having cancer. To me, the shattering of mirror served a symbolic function. It represented a destruction of Cleo's identity and her attempt to re-construct and understand herself in a new light. Because from that point Cleo became committed and tried to adjust her outlook of life. What Cleo would soon understand was that she had to stand up for herself, not merely as the center of attention as a singer in a lounge bar, but in a more existential manner - to stand up to fate.
Because in a sense Cleo realized time was running out for her, every instance of her life took a new and deeper meaning. She began to be very sensitive to what was taking place around her, and got closer to all these experience rather than concentrating on worldly pleasure she experienced in the past. The transformation here also reminded me of Akira Kurosawa's 'Ikiru'. When the protagonist, Watanabe, was aware that he has got a terminal cancer and only a few months to live. From a sense to disbelief to surface hedonism, and then to emptiness and despair, Watanabe saw through his own psychology and could eventually come to terms with his mortality in a positive and constructive way. He cherished every opportunities to contribute before his death, no matter how others would have perceived of that. The perception from others has always been an issue that troubled Cleo - when she realized that her perceived fame was not as great as she has thought, as no one really cared about her songs when they were playing at a juke box at a club. Indifference, both from other people or a more metaphysical dimension, is the most challenging aspect of finding meaning in life, because we have to battle our psychological need for recognition. The paradox is that we often have to face the personal problems alone and figure out our own meaning in a senseless universe.
When Cleo went to Parc Monsouris, she met and befriended Antoine, who was a soldier soon returning to Algerian War in 2 months. The pair had a common challenge - the confrontation of despair and their fear of destruction. It was when the absurdity of life became more pronounced, as Antoine expressed his view on the pointlessness of war in general. Through a heartfelt discussion with the soldier, Cleo had an opportunity for some self-reflection and became aware of her narcissism and selfishness. Because she was afraid of being hurt by others in relationships, she was not willing to commit wholeheartedly to relationship in the past, leading to unhappiness. She also came to understand the idea of 'Amor Fati' - to confront one's fate in an affirmative and courageous manner, in matter how dark and absurd it might turn out to be. Cleo and Antoine decided to confront their fear together. The deal (this is not Trump) was that Antoine would accompany Cleo to hear the result, and the young lady would see the soldier off when he returned to Algiers by train. The unlikely companionship was what gave both the courage to face the obstacles of their lives, and the fatalistic situations they had to confront.
No matter what the outcome would be, Cleo was no longer afraid. Because she had the courage and the appropriate attitude to face her existence, and that was not limited to the 2 hours of cinematic duration the audience engaged with her. From Nietzsche : if you can use joy and laughter to deal with the terror of life - what an existential warrior you are!
by Ed Law
Film Analysis
