The word that keeps coming to mind when I think about Faces Places is ‘charming.’ It’s just such a treat to watch its two protagonists interact with each other and the people they meet on their journey across France.
The film, directed by pioneering French New Wave filmmaker Agnès Varda, along with French photographer named JR, is most certainly a documentary about their travels, but not exactly. Some of the scenes are a bit more staged than others, but this is of little consequence considering how funny and sweet they are (Varda and JR going through all the ways they didn’t meet is especially cute). It’s an ode to the people of France, as well as an ode to each other.
Their 55-year age difference does nothing to diminish the charisma these two artists have, as they both respect and admire each other’s work. Eavesdropping on their conversations is one of the most delightful activities I can think of.
What’s unusual is that we are privy to the development of what we are about to see. In an interesting twist, we sit with the filmmakers as they converse as to what their movie should be about. All we know is that they want to work together. What the project is going to be has yet to be determined. So, they combine their specialties. They decide that they will travel the French countryside photographing people. Then, they’ll plaster these images on the sides of buildings, walls, or whatever else they can find, all while capturing the subject’s reactions to them. Mostly what they’re doing, though, is making people smile.
And we smile too. How can we not? The joy these artists bring to the lives they touch is measurable and obvious. They are teaching everyone they meet that no one is mundane and that every story is worth being told. As the film progresses, small glimpses into the lives of Varda and Jr are offered. We meet JR’s grandmother and hear of Varda’s past in various small towns of France. She speaks of artists and poets long gone, and the legacies they’ve left behind. In the end, she attempts to surprise JR with a visit to an old friend of hers, an artist he has always admired. It’s here that the lines between documentary and narrative are the most obscured, but at the risk of repeating myself, this is of little consequence.
Ultimately Faces Places is a celebration. A celebration of friendship and respect, of a nation and its people, and of the little things (even if they are blown up to the size of a building). But it’s also a celebration of art and artists, and those who have a compulsion to create. It’s a film rich in spirit and void of ambition. It exists simply because it does, with no agenda, grandstanding, or self-congratulatory pats on the back. It has a wonderfully restorative quality to it. Faces Places is a reminder that humanity still exists, and here it is.
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.