Cléo from 5 to 7

Agnès Varda’s first New Wave feature, Cléo from 5 to 7, blends documentary techniques and narrative experimentation to depict a real-time portrait of a woman set adrift in Paris. Pampered pop singer Cléo Victoire (Corinne Marchand) spends two hours considering her mortality as she awaits news of a possible cancer diagnosis. Fearful of losing her beauty, Cléo must consider what womanhood is without the adoring gazes of others. Cléo from 5 to 7 marked the start of Varda’s career-long commitment of deconstructing how the camera can come to define the image of a woman.