Vagabond (Sans Toit Ni Loi)

The UW’s cine-fan theater pays tribute to one of its own, film scholar David Bordwell, who passed away in March, with a series called “Thank You, David Bordwell.” All the Wednesday night screenings this summer will be 35mm prints of films from Bordwell’s own collection, now housed at the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research. On July 3, Jan de Bont’s bus/bomb thriller Speed “exemplifies the fairly well-crafted action picture,” as Bordwell wrote. July 10 features the French film Vagabond from 1985; July 17 highlights Laura, the Otto Preminger murder mystery of 1944; and the series closes July 24 with Tiger on Beat, a Hong Kong buddy-cop film that Bordwell praised as “exciting, even exhilarating.” All films are at 7 p.m. at 4070 Vilas Hall.

media release: France | 1985 | 35mm | 105 min. | French with English subtitles

Director: Agnès Varda

Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Macha Méril, Yolande Moreau

The winner of the top prize at the 1985 Venice Film Festival begins with the discovery of the lifeless, frozen body of the young hitchhiker Mona (Bonnaire). Through flashbacks recounted by individuals who crossed paths with her (portrayed predominantly by amateur actors), Varda constructs a fragmented depiction of this mysterious woman, crafting a mosaic-like portrayal that the director playfully referred to as “Rashomona.” Bonnaire’s multi-faceted turn won her several awards, including France’s Cesar, and the Los Film Critics Association prize for Best Actress.

The presentation of a 35mm print, courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research, will be followed by David Bordwell’s video essay discussing plotting in Vagabond (2019, 15 min.)