Jane Birkin owned Swinging London and fashionably hip Paris in the 1960s. A scandalous nude scene in Antonioni's 1966 film Blowup brought the actress/model/singer to the world's attention, but it was her relationship with French pop singer Serge Gainsbourg—and their risqué musical collaborations—that made her an icon. Birkin was a ‘60s child, strikingly beautiful and free, but also mysterious and introverted. Famed French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda (Cleo from 5 to 7, Vagabond) turned her lens on Birkin twice in the mid-1980s, and both films are featured in this Blu-ray set. Jane B Par Agnès V. (1988) is a documentary on Birkin, but only in the loosest sense. Varda's name is in the title for a reason—she's an integral part of the film, instigating and prodding a more mature Birkin to reveal herself beyond the public persona. Birkin is game, even as the film runs off into fascinating avant-garde tangents that re-imagine Birkin in paintings by Titian or as the star of a Laurel and Hardy slapstick reel. The second feature found its genesis in a Jane B Par Agnès V. sequence in which then-40 year old Birkin expressed a desire to star in a film as an older woman who falls in love with a teenage boy. The result is Kung-Fu Master! (1987), with Varda's 15-year-old son Matthieu Demy playing the part of Birkin's video-game-obsessed love interest (Birkin's daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon costar). Varda treats the controversial subject matter here with care and empathy, never sliding into exploitation or sensationalism. Extras include new video interviews with Varda, and a booklet featuring an interview with Varda by filmmaker Miranda July and an essay by film scholar Sandy Flitterman-Lewis. Recommended. (P. Morehart)
Jane B. Par Agnès V. / Kung-Fu Master!
Cinelicious, 2 discs, 177 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, Blu-ray: $39.95 June 13, 2016
Jane B. Par Agnès V. / Kung-Fu Master!
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