The local cinematheque started a retrospective of the films of Agnès Varda and that was a great opportunity for me to discover ‘Le Bonheur‘ (‘Happiness’), the 1965 production that was rebuilt in a digitized version with brilliant colors. It’s a fine example of the late phase of the French Nouvelle Vague, a disturbing and beautiful film, asking sharp social questions in a most elegant and aesthetic manner. To use appropriate French on this occasion: this film caused me ‘un vrai bonheur’ – real happiness.
The story takes place in a small French city, where carpenter Francois Chevalier (Jean-Claude Drouot ) is happily married to Therese (the lead actor’s wife Claire Drouot) and spends his free time in weekends picknicking in the woods with his wife and their two small kids. When encountering Emilie, a young postal clerk (Marie-France Boyer ) he falls in love with her, but he seems to be capable of extending his happiness to the new relationship while continuing with his marriage. Social conventions are not the problem (it’s a French film after all), the man seems to be flurishing with the situation, his marriage does not seem to be in any negative way affected, but will the two women be able to accept sharing the happiness? The final part of the story will provide an answer that is original and unexpected, and depending on the perspective of each viewer, may seem normal or outrageous.
In the very authentic tradition of the French New Wave, director Agnes Varda uses a mix of professional and amateur actors, with the wife and kids of Jean-Claude Drouot cast in the roles of his family in the film. The result is not only natural as intended, but also consistent with the acting of the rest of the cast, the other woman being the same type of blonde beauty which serves well the message of the film. Soundtrack is mostly borrowed from Mozart, and the cinematography is exquisite. The renewed version brings bright and harmonic colors, and the settings of nature at different seasons seem to predict much later productions like the Korean master Ki-duk Kim‘s ‘Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring‘ made 38 years later. The story, its development and ending asks questions about love and happiness and the possibility of sharing those in non-conventional situations, and the uniqueness of each of the lovers involved in the relationship. These questions which can be characterized as feminist, or romantic, or both, will continue to bother the viewers long after the film ends. Which is another characteristic of a great movie.