Vagabond (1985)

Synopsis: A powerful, poignant study of the last few months in the life of a female vagabond, Mona Bergeron, played in an early and coldly powerful performance by Sandrine Bonnaire. After she's discovered frozen to death at the start of the film, the story flashes back to examine Mona's effect on the... A powerful, poignant study of the last few months in the life of a female vagabond, Mona Bergeron, played in an early and coldly powerful performance by Sandrine Bonnaire. After she's discovered frozen to death at the start of the film, the story flashes back to examine Mona's effect on the people she encountered during her wanderings. Her presence becomes a catalyst, revealing society's prejudices and preconceptions--but through it all, she herself remains a cipher, a mystery unsolved. A series of ignored kindnesses and missed opportunities present themselves: a research professor who offers her part of his land and his home, a senile old lady and a kind immigrant worker offer companionship, a sympathetic housesitter is envious of her freedom and wayward lifestyle. All are passed by in Mona's unanswerable quest. As Agnes Varda's lifelong investigation into the lives of women focuses on the mysterious and essentially unknowable Mona, a string of clinical and spare poetic anecdotes, flashbacks, and interviews coalesces into a chilling mirror of society and those disenfranchised from its day-to-day workings. [More]