Agnes Varda Essay

The Gleaners and I, by Agnes Varda is about people gleaning over leftover food all around France. Gleaning all started from Jean-Francois Millets painting of women gleaning (picking up leftovers) kernels after harvest. This painting was shown in Agnes Vardas film. Its main subject is to reflect on food history. Anges Varda seems very weird to be interested in this type of subject to be filming about it. Gleaning is a very controversial topic and considered as a ancient activity. Anges wants to learn more about modern day gleaning. She goes around the city interviewing gleaners and we are able to see her as the interviewer and narrator. In the film we see so many types of people who glean and they all have different stories to tell. The director finds an artist who gleans for pieces of his sculpture. Another man who hasn’t paid for food for 10 years because he’s been eating leftovers.

The French government passed laws protecting gleaning, it is legal for people in France to glean and eat leftovers from wherever. A debate whether only poor people glean or is it throughout all classes come up. We are able to see poor people who glean because it’s a necessity for them in order to eat. Rich people who are against gleaning wants the poor to stop gleaning and prevent laws protecting it. In the film, we see a French chef who won two starts in the Michelins inaugural, mention that he gleans for ingredients. He mentions that for the buying the ingredients are a waste of money and expensive, so its better to take leftover things and use it as the ingredients. The director, herself, considers herself to be a gleaner because she collects items from her trips and she is seen collecting a clock without hands on it. We are able to see how polite Agnes Varda is, she is very kind to the people she interviews. She’s very fascinated by everyone who gleans and is willing to learn more and see from a gleaners’