Documenting the Documentary Close Readings of Documentary Film and Video NEW AND EXPANDED EDITION Wi a Forno yt Wetes Edited by Bary Keith Grant and Jeannette SloniowskiChapter 29 THE GLEANERS AND “Us” The Radical Modesty of Agnes Varda's Les glaneurs et la glaneuse Virginia Bonner tn both forma erate choices, asad loncse (The Glan 100) isone of Ags Vanda ost experimental is to dt. The ocurmentary’s delat themes of power, ging, Slenmaking. and a war rant this shift twaeda mote unconventional sje. Genes explores th ag reall tadton of leaning the legalized practic of eulling lefiover Ft from felis after the harvest. Vara journeys fom France's rural lst ts 3 markets tomeet and, with her handheld DV camera. to chon the Ives of glaners fal sorts, Through er direc adress fo the camera, het wer commentary and he sciatic choices, she reveal tht some glean out of necessity whi sumer waste, These diese ps or leaning eam unelated 3 St couse of the im, Vanda draws remarkable social conectons onditns, and thet ato them. Such unusual associations question and upend conventions ‘concerning subjets worthy of documentation, since Vata chooses fo dude not taditonal documentary fare but quite the opposite: moments banality. images of aging and decay. and ilerviews with social utes feaning, sch 3 aves 10 more inespecti one, such 38 Varda recognizes hat 1s, gestures, and er tse and er hewn oes, in her wor Vardss methodology in G Isl always a form of valuable while shooting on Incasion in a fl, a ational: “Ever in ther people othe Tes ike ging sudden life landerson 2) ‘What makes Clones dessin the process of ac adress, ideation, aw ard ils both he ewe as activ partipants in Ge in the seen pes riewersalike Asa result Ve spectators 3s her many ace nections among these sen tomate fm engender among filmmaker, Fimed amine how Vrs lis ve while To scrtnie the stractues Indeed, the ln is fi people eevealing themsth Yards connect with the ¢ lines. Varda expla, “a themselves; so though Filmmakers that should Aerscoring this association ‘one wherein Varda playful forthe camer, balancing fore dropping itn fvor« abitVd recognizes father ask as documentary Funke paral that ns acts, gestures and informatio’ ith her ears. Momenssleaed Vardis methodology i Caner underscores that dactmetay feseng selfs always a form of leaning, conditoned by what» flrs heat able whl shooting on location, which footage Une flmaker selec nchason in a film, and ow the filmmaker chooses to arange tens he os fran audience, Ytdadescites this aproach fo lmreaking wo peopl, ther people's work some landscape you never noheed keene it ike giving sudden Me to what yu sce and capuaring the tone What makes nig is Vara’ profound manipulation ofa tress in the process of chieving these fle By modljing the mes adres, enication, nd naration particule t the documentoy cee tail both he ieners and the people she flims—incuding eel os civeprtlpans in Sane This atatioal syle which Leth nthe second person” atively loates Vanda within her arguments ete maintaining 3 frm coremitment wo the people she lke te seers ne ers alike Asa esl ards conveys as much about hereleandi, Specatrs as her many acquaintances who glean. She draws poy ene tions among these semingly disparate groups andthe revateg cn song fmmaker mal subjects, and viewing seme, Ine cet the socal > epresentaton ise Indeed, the fi fall lanes she meets, and her phsial pron fm should ako reveal litle about th Saks, hat {should ust use ite bit of myself int [ary~ ‘he boundary benwcn thene ons a ii ewer ad she doe Has yea " toi J person, Granmnatisl peson,atconliig othe Oe able postion rd English Ditonan: indicates &partkipans tole as ciher the spas J this document (awe in rst perso) the address in sein person) ut sameee arole cls. gear omething spoken of the/sbefttey in thi peso person a lta. aid Sain ress, rarely sedi teadktonal erate i mst cononly hd gy rater ides, ters, bic. and games ke erate. nena raditonath pete ck Gham opents df fst othe persor narztion and Gianrserplosthesesseseste neh pean stl Vanda cccasionallsarratesin thie person tey petal he fod from ra ins sacoulral ‘ans thou her“ person nation comprises mst ofthe Rvs lee conser capil, hen commentary (wanted totskto hin,” filming ot wate, debe rss hat ih mo ind neatly allo the interviews offer rst-peson scat glaring ow hanans an The most distinct dessa Glaners however isthe ae hs € Person. Obvogs cinematic wes of the second person ince dace x" butt inspire our ember adaress though an eyline match withthe camera and wice-oer cont person pra, we The fi nat or dialog tht spe 10 -you the viewer Vara sometimes ny avin o Hes odes fa tes in second pewon {you dont see lime pissing). and she lols oon, through this ihe camera olen ut most effective ate the peuners who look and speak ist-peson pla. Thats, ivy to the camea/vewer, such as Frangois in his rer boot ane Jeane, huanarans, fl ene ules Mare’ grandson thi wneyand’ As the spectator becom delogis of 1 "you" and more involved inthe sores ofthese gleaner, the lines betacen “oxo ‘One of Varda's most om mn” hegin to sfen and Vard thereby encourages her auience to pr peas nt i Gans el tipatein the fms conversations and ocae about the people speaking (Too Yrs Late 3 But Gleaner is ngage in am even mote adil project than speak imeriewees 5 walla ther cet individual spettars about socal sses Arg the Bs row update, Vanda reverent important projet isto intepelt yu, the viewer, a an ace papa eters, sis, and leans and subject. This, however sot Louis Althusser's epressve, dominant hat prop er to contin ideology ang you Althusser 14) No is tail Hollywood tee Son. AL ofthese letersi hil” 28 KajaSiherman describes the “You are now in Belford Fall anghg ie fli fo thet stabshing shot of ls a Wonder Li 946) la-soh Thats this it ula sense of community a a address hat encourages you to adopt the false subjectivity of anaee tiene in To ‘expecially tha of fiona Hollywood character oc tobe Althusser's" Sls humantarian p Fected being... eey accepting of his is] subjugton or vento scqulesee more tet 1 nstead. Gleanas ses t0 rae your sci consciowsness i th 120 talk to him, praise GGramscian “spt of scission fe redempive break cis, in ‘who Rist appear tals, or oer foes uf dsion| hat st aim spread itl the Popcomlbst ea Laplach protagonist las othe classes that alls 190), Of cours pclae ike mans list pray fins seek maa sli ts ve up what he16 does au thus genentive of an epistemology and poise of engaged, account tothe Oy able postoning” (096). By malpiying and revauing the weenie, specey leaning” this documentary teaches us to ecogniar and seconde ons meat or societal bein dass gendes, and age practices, as well in exvconmental veoon a. cultural and Hlnmisking practice, Belting Vand’ lielong commminee Ain toa tocountecultral activism, he fll offers us analteratve selene 1s prefs model: Cleanzropenly defies bourgeois eologies by challenging cle op awl pression, enireamental destruction ageism, and canpantconeamensn ‘om ah he film’ sociculturalerigue teaches ws to reject our preriies sl Ins op dee consumer capitalism. Ie 3 counterhegemo debris ress that migh: more apl translate: "Hey, you leaning come slening ut fellow husrsns and the envtonmest the se Tovatdthisend, lene strives simply to are th second person fe dite but ingire our embrace ofa stronget communal sence ote fe et com Person pura, ve." The flin's novely and efcacy lie in ie subte inter nes na weaving of these modes of address, all designed to hall you the roel coke a person, and thrcugh this haling io ead you toa humanist awareness othe speak frst person pir. Tht is, Vatda wants “you oon “usa comms ts and geaers,hurartrians fellow humans, inorder to shit om seperti omnes on and "them tothe mot inchs“ wand One of Varkis most ener expressions ofthis humanitarian goal ap op Pers notin Gieanes itself but inthe DVD's fallomp dacumentasy Dace sking as apis To es ater, 2002) i which she revisit many othe egal raking interviewees 36 wel i other gleaners. Moving imple them mort ‘ww update, Varta reverenly wes us that it mas the astounding mosehes iipant lett, stoves and gleaned gifs sent to her air the selest a Gomme, inant "at prompted hero continue the fins project two years er its conv femal ton. Al ofthese eters share with the filmmaker how inpiing sod Fal hanging hee fr is for tei authors, and haw it ceates 2 hew ssenesy Ais huenanitarian project: It makes yor want tobe Bees person te eaten to other people.” Coninming tis reponse les ket leaner it interviewed in Gleaner, rept tht now more poor e stop to talk to hin, praise his volunteer work, buy his laos, Aas he parchoanayst Jean Laplanche, compares glesing ora se Prychoanalyis like gleaners who must be open to possi, a step white knows so he cn be receptive to something that 5 da ty nev.” Yet another viewer describes her experience of Clean way nd the inspzationalimpct of Vans oe in kevey put valle meth ad suey ™ My ave tial ora thority fers sfeaners. As 2 shared practice, glaning proces Antonio Grass alignment of “poeta clas lls.” The fi’ disjunctive eng fal tates this breakdown of class boundaries throu is surprising and humerous juxtapesitons. For example Vrd's interview with laa, the poor and dispirited yt persevering traveler who glans fom potato fields hd tach cn, in gourmet kitchen of fourstar ex ute chef Edouard Loubet, who, the flim soom reveals ans. This Shi from povetystrcken traveler to glesning gourmet chef broadens sad Finitons of leaning even a toes a more comfortable poi bidet Since the film's relate in 2000, lve viewed Gleaner with pubic a ences and with ny undergraduate Rim sdents more than twenty times in Paris. New You and Aliant, andthe responses unaing,pedows nly middleclass audiences aways laugh at ths comparison sf poot taveler and a gout chef Considering the fils overt class analyse, find his momentoflaughte highly significant: Why do audiences fee com pallet laugh ar this comparison? I true that Vand's abrupt juntpos ion here creates a moment ofl shock she cuts fom Clue’ diay, cramped tale t Edousnd's bright, spacious, stainless nel kitchen Th ine moment. Ata deeper level, however, the laughter may al Vara’ direct lass comparison, one tat neces cals ate Vard's carey edited justapostion of these two dierent leaner intaly might seem designed to condemn middleclass sewer, asthe comparison easly could have setup a biting cits ofthe cet anu the audience’, bourgeois priege, More pu ciel, however, thi ness Functions not ata slap at bourgeis audiences Butas a este ef inclusivity inthe fr ‘ourselves on a continuum of preg ranging from the esti, tines steal fluence af the chef athe prepares etishied. expensive loads tothe Shabby, talesbound poverty ofthe traveler who must scrabble for leo sensitive nature of Vandas interview with Chef Edd quickly reveals the glean out of economic galt a well abet under lees de ccumstances “Nothing should vaste.” he tes vs. “We dot throw anything ama in my Lichen, You have to be economical" This bre urgeois chet leu or his herbs and rai use he refuses to pay for overpriced finds of lesser quality a the mingle can ensure the Fesness of his ingred nis and honor his grandparents. who taught him the tadton of gleanlle ‘the ves ed eng 1 subey Stiken pan fess of spe She at hap. thet takes tof bul and us while {was shoting ths fl. confirmed for me thatthe documentary fim isa discipine that eaches modesty” (ah, She asserts that spodean which she stives to inculcate in the audience, was one of her primary sotatins for sing a BY camera yeline matches snd sighly oblige ‘amera anges sich us imo he conversations with her lnterewecs, be isthe small size and fipout monitor of hes handycam that lowe wo al » et physically loser to people during interviews without imide, them: "Yo lok them inthe eye she say, without having “to hide bend re camera” (Hav). Nothing inherent im digital cameras lads inetably to changed relations berween flamaker and subject but the DV camera! nobtrsive size and secondary viewscreen oer posibilives for sul Aiference. and Vad’ filmer 25 these posible, he sense of connection enabled by Var’ technical choices extends te the viewer a5 well, creating the fil’ remarkable fst person hua feel tn effect, the camera it “us.” the viewing auence seat at the ble walking though the field with Vanda and her interviewees, Whex th alk wits Vand, they address the carer's presene and henee These choices turn the ypc informant intesew ubiquitous wope in documentaries int something quite sew. Vard's mall DV camer her casual on location settings, snd her onsciven pees fence trade not on the authority invested in dl ty of the staged hid interview but on the situated ommunality ane spontaneity among all conversing iselading the overs addressed viewer 6 he documentary ancse and the ewer, tying to sway our sents sbjcively twat the interviewees While lena difers markedly from mainstream ses, 0 too does its mode of added Parisin July 2000 she prefered o emphasize the poles of pg leavers asthe ls dominant theme, She is arf to aol the el veremphsis on besa sigfiant ference own fat prominently cide ther decors onscreen, its origina topic (ahistorical documen tary aout Sherman's March and ite devluton into the diecor's-sham cFlwee hides bein his amera for most of his fim, often loking voyeuristially at women andce hers the mia inter ow reedicated 3 “modeseno State Apartises” In Lenin and vans. Willan Balhae 85-90. Londo: Lawrence and Waa, 98s “You Must Lessons on $ from Wer Heat {think you sho esti thats rt Because ial For all ofthe the sense of re sly pu it 57}—that her experience accom fim wha no longer xi Ireathing counterpts. ofits inabitants th ier once agin what it