CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7

CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7 (CLÉO DE 5 À 7), 1961
France, Italy | DCP, Black & White, 90' | French
Cast: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray

One of Agnès Varda’s most beloved films, Cléo from 5 to 7 is also one of the most important films of French New Wave. This ageless film portrays the young and beautiful singer Cléo, during the two hours as she waits for the test results to see whether she has cancer or not. The ominous final card in Cléo’s tarot reading is a symbol for death. Cléo is falling apart; the biopsy is to come out that evening. From 5pm to 6.30pm that day, life will be upside down for Cléo, whose real name is Florence. During the wait, Cléo will let go of her selfishness, discover the brutalities of life and start opening up to people, just as the camera presents the fragility of beauty and love in the face of death as it brings the viewers closer to the film’s protagonist.