Feminist Film and Female Subjectivity in Agnès Varda’s Cléo de 5 à 7, 1962

Agnes Varda's Feminist film

Photograph

Varda, Agnès. Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962) established a central work in feminist cinema through its sustained focus on female subjectivity, embodiment, and the experience of time within urban modernity. Structured in near real-time, the film follows a young singer awaiting medical results, using this interval to examine how identity is shaped through observation, performance, and self-perception. Produced within the French New Wave yet distinct in authorship and perspective, the work foregrounds a woman’s interior life and social visibility, contributing to scholarship on gender, spectatorship, and the emergence of women directors in postwar European cinema. Appearances by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina further situate the film within the movement’s collaborative network.
Agnès Varda’s Cléo de 5 à 7. Tokyo: Japanese exhibition issue, 1962. Archive of 6 original vintage silver gelatin photographic lobby stills. Glossy black-and-white prints measuring approximately 4.75 x 6.5 inches. The images consistently feature Corinne Marchand in the role of Cléo, shown in varied urban settings including streets, interiors, and performance spaces, often wearing her recognizable polka dot dress. The compositions emphasize her visibility within public space, alternating between posed and observational moments that align with the film’s temporal structure. Each photograph includes printed lower margins bearing the film title alongside Japanese text, indicating their production for theatrical display in Japan and reflecting the film’s international distribution.
Issued during a period of expanding discourse on women’s roles in cinema, Cléo de 5 à 7 contributed to the articulation of female-centered narrative and perspective within a predominantly male-directed movement. Its focus on perception, illness, and autonomy continues to support research into feminist film theory and European cultural history of the 1960s. Light handling wear with minor edge wear; overall very good condition. A cohesive set of international exhibition stills from a foundational work in women-directed cinema.

Item #19707

Price: $450.00