Kung-Fu Master!
France • 1988
Director
Synopsis
Made concurrently with Agnès Varda’s portrait of Jane Birkin, JANE B. PAR AGNÈS V., KUNG-FU MASTER! is a true family affair, achieving a sense of of lived-in intimacy by casting the actor’s real-life relatives, including daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, as themselves. Varda and Birkin give the familiar theme of a misunderstood couple searching for a place where their love can survive a provocative twist in this daring romance, in which Birkin (who wrote the story that provided the inspiration for the film) plays a middle-aged woman involved with a fourteen-year-old, video game–obsessed boy (Varda’s son, Mathieu Demy). The taboo relationship plays out with supreme delicacy and restraint, as Varda transforms the explosive premise into a disarmingly tender portrait of a woman’s search for lost youth.
Synopsis
Made concurrently with Agnès Varda’s portrait of Jane Birkin, JANE B. PAR AGNÈS V., KUNG-FU MASTER! is a true family affair, achieving a sense of of lived-in intimacy by casting the actor’s real-life relatives, including daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, as themselves. Varda and Birkin give the familiar theme of a misunderstood couple searching for a place where their love can survive a provocative twist in this daring romance, in which Birkin (who wrote the story that provided the inspiration for the film) plays a middle-aged woman involved with a fourteen-year-old, video game–obsessed boy (Varda’s son, Mathieu Demy). The taboo relationship plays out with supreme delicacy and restraint, as Varda transforms the explosive premise into a disarmingly tender portrait of a woman’s search for lost youth.
Part of Box Set
Credits
Crew
DirectorAgnès Varda
WriterAgnès Varda
CinematographerPierre-Laurent Chénieux
ComposerJoanna Bruzdowicz, Joanna Bruzdowicz
EditorMarie-Josée Audiard
Cast
Jane Birkinas Mary-Jane
Mathieu Demyas Julien
Charlotte Gainsbourgas Lucy
Lou Doillonas Lou
Gary Chekchakas Youngster