First scene (shot in color):Cleo visits the fortune-teller:ignorance,confusion.Last scene:Cleo is a responsible woman now,she's ready to cope with a not-so-rose future:enlightenment. Between the scenes ,one hour and a half (the title is a misnomer).Historically,it's not the first film whose story unfolds in real time (see Robert Wise:the set up).But the concept is here totally mastered. At the beginning of the movie,Cleo is a precious,soft ,selfish young girl.The fortune-teller epitomizes naïvete,a non-scientific attitude.And however,the lady says something important when Cleo draws a skeleton from the tarot pack:"do not panic,the arms and the legs are still covered with flesh.Your own being is about to change deeply." The fortune tells that to comfort Cleo -later she'll tell her husband "cards say "death!",and as for me I've seen cancer"-and the end would prove she was right though. After leaving the fortune-teller,Cleo meets some people ,most of them indifferent,she cannot communicate her anguish to any of them.Everybody' s busy about himself.They listen to her,but they can't hear her. Then she takes her black glasses off!It's a symbol,now she's ready to see the world as it is.She meets Antoine ,he's a soldier about to return to Algeria to fight in a dirty war.Both are afraid,both have found the comfort they needed so!Now Cleo has opened up,she can face the terrible illness."I'm not afraid anymore,she says,I think that I'm happy"

"Cléo de 5 à 7" is a film from the French New Wave by auteur Agnès Varda. I mention this because New Wave films were a huge departure from earlier French films and the films of Hollywood. They often deliberately chose topics for the films that weren't especially cinematic an often featured morally suspect protagonists (such as in "Breathless"). This sort of stuff critics have long enjoyed...though in the case of this film, I wonder if the subject matter would drive away most viewers. If you read the IMDB summary, it talks about a hypochondriac awaiting test results to tell her if she has cancer...not exactly a crowd pleasing sort of plot! So is it worth seeing or is it an artsy film that 'normals' would be best to avoid?

The story begins with Cleo consulting a fortune teller. It seems she's taken tests to see if she has cancer but she wants a second opinion from the woman. What follows is Cleo's life for the next 90 minutes (not 120 like the title would imply) and you learn more about this woman. For example, she is a lounge singer and kept woman....and her lover isn't surprised when she tells him she thinks she's ill. Apparently she's a hypochondriac and often thinks she's very ill. You also see her go about her day, doing a variety of mostly mundane things...such as going to a bar, seeing a friend who is a nude model and practicing for an upcoming concert. I say mostly because in a brief scene, she passes a most bizarre busker who is shoving live frogs in his mouth and on his face for the crowd's amusement!

Instead of being a cinematic sort of movie, this looks more like they just followed a woman for 90 minutes...recording everything...dull or interesting...it didn't matter which. This is exactly the sort of stuff artsy folks adore about the New Wave. After all, it's a HUGE break from traditional films. My problem is that although I do like some New Wave films, too often they seem to be more an experiment for the amusement of the filmmakers and their intelligentsia friends and less something 'normals' would want to watch. The best examples of this I can think of are some of the movies by Godard, such as "Alphaville" and "Pierre le Fou"....films which make little sense and are intended to make little sense. A bit of this, for me, goes a long, long way. I think I generally prefer the films of Jean-Pierre Melville...also a New Wave director but also a guy who made some much more traditional films than some of his counterparts.

So did I enjoy "Cléo from 5 to 7"? No, not really. I found the central character unlikable...or at least someone I honestly didn't care about one way or the other. Lovers of the New Wave love this...but for me, as I said already, a little of this goes a long way! Now this is not to say I dislike French films....they are among my favorites. But I have to have a reason to care in order for a film to be one I'd recommend or want to see twice....and I don't feel either way about this movie and I didn't care whether or not Cleo died from cancer. Most of the reviews are positive, though I also assume that French New Wave films are mostly self-selecting....in other words, if you love them, you seek them out and see magnificent things in them. Most folks probably wouldn't bother in the first place. To me, it just reinforced why New Wave films often bore me.

By the way, in the cab and in the bar, you hear folks talking about Algeria. This is because the film came out the year this long civil war ended....and Algeria gained its independence from France. You also hear about rebels...and this is not referring to the Algerians but conservative politicians and military offers who thought President DeGaulle had betrayed the nation by allowing Algeria to gain its independence. It was so bad that assassination attempts were made on him, as the rebels wanted to continue the war regardless of the cost.

The plot involves a two hour wait to get the diagnosis from a doctor. Cleo is convinced she has cancer but there is no reason for it. She goes to a fortune teller and believes the cards which indicate a bad future. Cleo is a self absorbed singer who has no outward world. She is only interested in getting what she wants and living into her mood. What makes this a wonderful film in many ways is the cinematography. The camera is precise and takes us on a trip not enhanced by the plot. Once we get over the fact that we don't like Cleo very much, we have a look at a woman, created beautifully. She needs to be a turn off in order to begin to find peace and experience joy.