Ô Saisons, Ô Châteaux and Du Côté de la Côte: the touristic films of Agnès Varda

les films touristiques d’Agnès Varda

Abstract

This paper explores Agnès Vardas’ first documentaries: Ô saisons, ô châteaux (1957) and Du côté de la côte (1958), two films that were commissioned to her by the Office de Tourisme de France. Taking the link between travel and film as a starting point – a link that is present in travelogues, exploration films and tourist films – our journey through these short films is based both on the analysis of the films themselves and on Varda’s speech about their creation. By closely analyzing these strikingly creative pieces, we can find trademarks of Vardian cinema, namely what would come to constitute the foundations of the cinematographic style claimed by Varda herself, that of cinécriture. The use of humor and a sociological and lyrical approach are some of the elements that display her uniqueness as a filmmaker, taking viewers on a geographic-tourist representation, that is also a cinematographic journey.