``Vagabond'' A movie where the heroine trembles as the winter cold turns hostile.

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2022.11.12Daiji Miyashiro

"Vagabond" synopsis

On a cold winter's day, a frozen corpse is discovered in a ditch in a field in rural France. The body was that of an 18-year-old young woman named Mona. Mona spends her days wandering by hitchhiking with only a sleeping bag and backpack on her back, and along the way she studies a young man who is also a wanderer, a housemaid, a former student movement leader who runs a ranch, and a plane tree. I met professors, etc. The police bury Mona as a result of an accidental fall due to natural causes, but the camera traces Mona's steps in the weeks leading up to her death, based on the stories of people she met on the street. To go. People start talking about Mona in their own way without knowing about her death...

Index

death in the landscape

``I know this because I grew up in this part of France, and the winter landscape in this part of France is wonderful, strong, and hostile.'' The uncontrollable sadness that comes when... sudden fear of the violence of others. The nostalgia when people talk about their lives. The loneliness in the ruins. The feeling of wanting to cry."*2 (Agnès Varda)

The scenery of a cold village as beautiful as a painting. A farmer collects dead tree branches like a gleaner. Mona (Sandrine Bonnaire) is frozen to death in this landscape. When the farmer discovers the corpse, he panics and runs to his friends. According to the police investigation, Mona's death was not suspicious. The police stand in front of the farmer, demanding his testimony as the first person to discover the scene. The backs of the uniforms worn by public authorities cover the camera, and the figure of the farmer, who seems to be working at the edge of the farmland, disappears from the frame. The violence directed at the poor in this opening scene overlaps with the tragedy that a young girl named Mona is faced with. A narration by Agnès Varda overlays the screen. "The corpse of a young woman found in the village... Who will remember this Mona?"

“Vagabond” preview

No home, no law. Mona says "no" to everything. Whenever she sees an opportunity, Mona steals things, kicks shutters, and mutters, "Meld!" Mona lives a life of moving around as a backpacker, but she never expresses gratitude to the people who provide her with a place to sleep.

Mona has intelligence and a rebellious spirit. However, Mona's rebellion is not a rebellion that tries to change something in society, but a rebellion that does not conform to the expectations of others. Although he asks for work to get through the day, he always turns down any work that is offered to him. Mona's clothes are extremely dirty, and everyone who meets her talks about how bad she smells. Many people dislike Mona, but others are attracted to Mona, who is unafraid of being brash. In particular, some of the women who have met Mona feel a sense of admiration for her way of life, which seems to be a celebration of freedom. They are drawn to Mona's "I don't care" spirit.

``Vagabond'' (1985) begins with the scene where Mona's corpse is discovered, giving the audience a preview of the story's ending. In the next scene, Mona is seen in the distance, completely naked, bathing in the sea. Aphrodite was born in the frigid sea. Mona was born with a clean body, but as she lives a homeless life, she gradually becomes covered in dirt. The film chronicles Mona's last winter.

``Vagabond'' was filmed and released in the year that record-breaking cold waves hit France. The film, which was advertised on a poster with the catchphrase ``Can you take me in the car? She's cute, but she stinks, and she doesn't say thank you. That's Mona,'' won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and won the French Film Festival. It became a blockbuster hit that attracted 1 million people.

18 testimonies: Mona's real and virtual images

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