Lions Love (... and Lies)

I saw this movie on German TV probably in 1971. It was fascinating to me. It seemed like a documentary about the 60s lifestyle fizzling out against the background of upscale Hollywood actors pretending to be hippies keeping the experiment going. That was actually happening to many people who worked in the creative field at the time. The innocent 60s dream was dying and politically motivated violence took over that couldn't be ignored. The 1970s was like waking up from a nice dream only to discover that reality became a nightmare. Artists lost their sense of direction. Didn't know whether to create a bubble and preserve the dream, or adjust to the stark realities of the 70s. This movie captured the threshold of this transition. The 60s experiment became boring, which the movie also captured. What was once outrageous and ground breaking became a yawn. The bourgeoisie was no longer upset about witnessing communes, topless women, and shameless living arrangements. That has been digested by society already. The underground has been normalized by Hollywood. All that's left is Hollywood living its own myth. That's what seems to be happening with Vargas' characters. They live in their happy bubble while the world was falling apart in the TV's news reports, the dawn of the 70s. Vargas' character came to Hollywood to make a movie about Hollywood society in their time, only to discover all movies covering this subject have already been made, or it's simply too late to capture anything worthwhile. The last hooray of the 60s was probably Woodstock and Essy Rider, that were just about to happen when Vargas made this movie. Hollywood missed the 60s almost entirely. If it wasn't for Corman getting some movies like The Trip made, Hollywood might have skipped the 60s going straight from the 50s into the 70s. The 70s gave us Scorsese, Coppola, and Spielberg, who changed Hollywood forever. Just like Hollywood skipped the 60s, Vargas skipped Hollywood never to return.

If we were to debate about French filmmakers who have made successful films in Hollywood,it would appear that Agnès Varda is certainly not the first person from France who made a film in Hollywood.There were many people before her including great French master Jean Renoir who made films which had favorable outcome in Hollywood.What is important to note is that her films based in Hollywood gained more popularity as she and her husband Jacques Demy were close to American cultural icon Andy Warhol.This is also the case with her film "Lions Love" in which she makes attempts to understand working style of Hollywood people.The highlight of the film is her quest to fathom how American films get their finances in a tough jungle called Hollywood.Lions Love is also a tale of reflections of a French lady on American events of the time as there is a significant mention of the assassination of American president John.F.Kennedy.Those who are looking for traces of feminism found in other films by Agnès Varda would be highly disappointed as Lions Love is very much a light work in terms of its filming style and theme.

Agnes Varda directed this fascinating cinema verte like fictional film in 1969. The film traces Gerome Ragnai and James Rado (the composers of HAIR) and Andy Warhol actress Viva as they try to break into the Hollywood lifestyle. American feminist icon filmmaker Shirley Clarke is featured in an extended role, also playing a fictionalized version of herself. Clarke is attempting to get studio financing for a film project that seems to be consciously satirizing the struggles Varda must have had in getting this film made. This film is funny, beautifully shot and imaginatively edited. It is a must see for fans of Varda and the French New Wave.

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.

The movie is totally a waste of precious time unless you are a great fan of any of the actors involved or like to see news clips of the 60's in California. The best part is the first part of the movie showing a scene out of a play "the Beard" with Billie Dixon and Richard Bright, but that is just about all you are going to see of Richard Bright. There seems to be no structure, no set script. I think anybody could have done a better job with other wanna be actors and a camcorder. I cant believe they wasted so much time on a scene where they were too lazy to get out of bed to order or make coffee. At the end you will be slapping yourself in the face either to wake yourself up or to scold yourself for the fact that you watched the whole thing from beginning to end.