Review of Vagabond (2015) by Ryan M — 28 Mar 2009

A young woman is found in a dead in a ditch. Her face is ashen and her body is half frozen. She is covered with raw grape juice. The police come to investigate. The rest of the film is the story of how she got there, told in a series of vignettes. These stories are punctuated by narrative from the people she met along the way, who recount to others what their experiences with her were like.

Her name was Mona. She was in her mid 20s. She was a hitchhiker who slept outdoors in tents and in ruined buildings, living free from the shackles of society. She smoked weed, drank to excess, had sex with random men, picked up odd jobs and most frequently loafed. She was dirty and stank. When offered opportunities to improve her life, she found ways to sabotage them. She was tough and crude... always ready with a "fuck you" for anyone who displeased her. She lied, cheated, stole, manipulated to get by... entirely ungrateful and feeling little for others.

The more we watch, the darker her journey becomes. Is she free? Or is she a slave to her own freedom?

On view in Vagabond are Varda's gifts for combining non-linear fiction narrative with pseudo documentary. Like Cleo from 5 to 7, Vagabond features a complex female lead faced with her mortality. Like her documentary The Gleaners and I, Vagabond depicts the extreme poverty of those who live off the land. The subtlety of personality, human interaction and humor is typically Varda-esque. In sum, the film is no departure from the greater body of the director's work. What makes Vagabond a stunning achievement is that Varda is not only able to combine all of her talents at once, but she uses them to tell the story of a nihilist anti hero about whom no one cared... least of all herself. Yet WE care about her. We feel for her. Deeply.