A subtitle warns, "beware of dark sunglasses." Anna and her lover, whose looks in bowler and bow tie are reminiscent of a young Buster Keaton, kiss chastely on a bridge overlooking the Seine. He dons sunglasses and waves as she runs down a stairway to the river's edge, then watches in horror as she's knocked flat and loaded into the back of a hearse. In vain, he gives chase. Disconsolate, he buys a large funeral wreath and a handkerchief from sympathetic vendors. He removes the glasses to wipe his eyes and realizes they are the cause of all his woe. He replays the farewell without the glasses.
Direction
Varda's playful fatalism in under five minutes.
Acting
Anna Karina + Godard as doomed lovers, art imitating life.
Cinematography
Parisian bridges never looked so cruelly beautiful.
Director
Agnès Varda
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Varda and Demy's creative partnership, this short came out the same year as Cléo from 5 to 7 and Godard's Vivre Sa Vie—peak Left Bank cinematic energy.
The 'black fiancée' Emilienne Caille appears briefly as another victim of sunglass tragedy, implying this curse spreads beyond our couple.
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