Lions Love (... and Lies)

Imagine Andy Warhol if he were slightly less boring and considerably more humanistic and you have some idea of the great limits and small virtues of this LA time capsule from the spring and summer of '68. Give it a C plus.

Lion's Love is a pseudo-documentary with no concrete direction. It asks us to be voyeurs of three people who define cavalierism.. An oddly fascinating look at late 60's America via the very french Varda. Hard to recommend, but cineastes of new-wave/non-linear film will love it. Worth noting for a cameo by James Douglas Morrison as a theater patron.

I love Agnes Varda. I love Viva. I love California. I love the 60s. And still I hated this movie. It is proof that Varda does not do well without a plot structure (few directors do). There is no plot to this film and its boring, boring, boring. It's a weekend in the life of Viva and the creators of Hair the weekend of RFK's assasination. A slice of real-life ala Warhol. (Agnes went so far as to steal Viva away, a real Warhol superstar. Only 3 saving graces: funny Shirley Clarke; some beautiful imagery with Viva and a clock and one scene w/ Varda herself. Otherwise, skip it even if you are a Varda or Viva fan. Re-watch Cleo or Vagabond instead.

This film captures the spirit i was possessed by whilst a teenager, i love it achingly. Not for everyone. For one thing, don't expect a plot driven film, that's just silly to expect here, expect a decadent period piece, with eye popping visuals and hippie excess. For me it's one of the best things i'll ever see!

I checked this movie out as it sounded interesting as it starred Warhol discovery Viva and the writers of the musical "Hair" and was filmed by Agnes Varda who made "Cleo from 5 to 7". I was looking forward to seeing this but was so disappointed because it is a terrible and amateurish film with unappealing characters.

Rado and Ragni should never have stepped in front of a camera. (Instead they should have been busy writing a new hit musical.) It is now clear to me why Viva never became a movie star and why this movie now is forgotten and unseen. Shirley Clark is the only interesting person in it and I wonder what this movie would have been without the Kennedy assassination.

It's ironic that the film studio people in the film talk about having the final cut of a film project and how the Clarke's agent wants her to retain creative control over her film. This film HAD been better with a lot of editing, cutting out all of Viva, Rado and Ragni (but the there wouldn't have been anything left!).

What could have been a cult documentary of the scene in 1969 California is just an incredibly dull because of Varda's choice of lead characters. Just because these people had been involved in some cool 60's projects did not mean that they were worthy of being subjects of a documentary. The only funny part is when they discuss pregnancy and how it would be good to speed up the process.