Le Bonheur (1965)

 Agnes Varda's "Le Bonheur"

I've got to say that I feel as though Agnes Varda's 1965 film "Le Bonheur" is one of her strangest films that I've come across. It tells the story of a man who seems incredibly happy in his home life: he's got a beautiful and adoring young wife, two lovely children, and spends his days laughing, playing, and spending time with them. However, he decides to take on an attractive postal worker as a lover, and feels that it would only increase the happiness that he already feels. After telling his wife, she kills herself and he replaces her with this new lover as a wife and mother.

This whole strange affair is filmed by Varda through a 'picturesque' lens. Not only is this film beautifully shot with great use of color, but Varda surrounds her images with that of the beauty of nature. We are even shown a blossoming sunflower right off the bat when the film begins. We are continually surrounded by beauty and visually striking environments. Everything is wrapped in this ethereal ray of sunshine. And yet, the subject matter, especially the outcome of the story, is both shocking and disturbing. 

Canadian writer Sheila Heti describes the film as a "horror movie wrapped in sunflowers, an excoriating feminist diatribe strummed to the tune of a love ballad. It's one of the most terrifying films I've ever seen." With that statement, I ponder the darkness that lurks under the protagonist's pursuit of happiness. He feels as though taking on a lover, despite being happy with his current family, is only brining more 'happiness' into the picture. However, the result is the suicide of his wife, along with a complete restructuring of his family. The wife is replaced like an old, worn out part. 

"Le Bonheur" is a film that I can't get too much into, because I feel as though the more you investigate, the more ambiguity you will find. The motives, the fates, the underlying tone, the philosophy, and the ruminations all lead to contradictory and radical narratives. It's a film that only leads to a chaos of reflection. Is our happiness purely egoist and self-centered? Is a man's pursuit of happiness inherently contradictory to both objective harmony and women's sustainability? Does happiness and love inherently create underlying destruction? Regardless of the questions the film poses, it's both radical and shocking. It is a film that will have you pondering its substance after your viewing.