Agnes Varda's travelogue about the Cote d'Azur during the summer is full of closely observed realities, paired with sarcastic commentary. A voice tells you about what you are looking for in poetic phrases; another gives you its location. There are noisy tourists searching for quiet, sunbathers whose heads seem to be infants or dogs, and always, bright colors.... but on the Cote D'Azure, there is always a bit of blue sky or sea in the shot, except for the German tourists, who wear a uniform green.
This is a documentary, and all documentaries must judge their subject, at least to some extent. Yet the pairing of bright, colorful images and the ironic voices lends a tension as to what Varda thinks about the entire matter.... until the end, when the search for Eden begins...and ends with a garden of imported plants on an isolated island, and the season ends, with the great gates of the great resorts swing close. You find what you look for, I suppose, for a brief season.
