Review: One Night Only
Mur Murs | Agnes Varda | France | 1981 | 81 minutes
UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall, Saturday, November 21, 7:00pm»
Agnes Varda tours Southern Californian public artworks in her documentary, Mur Murs, which traces the sociopolitical realities behind paintings and murals. Edwanike Harbour suggests that from our perspective with the passage of time, Varda “has captured an almost unrecognizable America in the microcosm of California.”
Agnes Varda (Cleo from 5 to 7, Documenteur) has had a long, illustrious career that includes several documentaries and narrative features. She is one of the premier auteurs in the French New Wave and her contributions predate the films of Truffaut and Godard. Her style is mellifluous, yet empowering as she gives voice to the voiceless as exemplified in the lyrical Mur Murs.
Varda had two extensive stays in California during her career. The first took place between 1967-1969 with her equally brilliant husband Jacques Demy in tow, during which she produced the short Uncle Yanco (1967) and the feature Lion’s Love (…and Lies) (1969). Varda returned to California in the late 1970s to take a curious look at the local mural artist scene in Los Angeles. This was an interesting time to be in the states, let alone in the vibrant cultural mix of southern California. Amidst the post-Watergate, pre-Reaganite doldrums of America, culturally, this landscape was still searching for an identity. This forms the crux of this unique documentary.
In the 1970s, the barrios of East L.A. were filled with the hopes and dreams of many talented Chicanos/Chicanas, but they were increasingly becoming a marginalized people. Los Angeles was quite diverse but not particularly well integrated, which remains the case for many large American cities today. Chicano/Chicana artists relied on the museum of the streets to display their work, while exhibitions by Ellsworth Kelly and Roy Lichtenstein may have been hanging up at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Varda does an outstanding job of tapping into the stories and struggles of this community.
Depending on the lens of the viewer, many people don’t take into account the sociopolitical historical context of what they are seeing when viewing a mural. While some murals are there to promote the business within the building they are attached to, some have a much deeper and more significant meaning than that. Varda tells the story of Judith Francisca Baca, whose mural work is reminiscent of a young Frida Kahlo, with the rich vibrant colors and bold subject matter. Visitors to the area will definitely want to check out “The Great Wall of Los Angeles” to get a taste for her style.
Baca started a program for adjudicated Chicano youth. They could not actually participate in the program unless they actually went to jail. Odd as it sounds, it may have saved the lives of many of these young artists. A young man named “Chava” explains his tattoos and the paintings of the women who live in the neighborhood. There are many gangs in the area and graffiti is used not just to mark territory but also to pay homage to fallen gang members.
Religious themes are prevalent throughout the imagery: the Lady of Guadalupe, Jesus Christ, and other Christian iconography. Even the Hare Krishna’s have contributed to this vast, artistic landscape. One artist displays his version of the holy trinity as television actors, which includes a piercing, blue-eyed, western figure that represents his idea of Christ. There’s no commentary about the cultural history and struggle of the early settlers of L.A. in his work. It is, however, an interesting piece of commentary that in the cradle of modern entertainment in America that the Father, Son, and Virgin Mary would be portrayed by our almighty celebrities. The realism with which these figures are portrayed is staggering and poses such a contrast to the Chicano artists. It does capture the diversity of the mural scene during this time.
Varda shows a scene with young, black roller skaters dancing to disco. Others stroll by to the sights and sounds of the boardwalk. It is such a cool scene that seems almost out of place in time. Not just for the obvious reasons, but taking into account the violent, shattered world in which we live, seeing Americans of different shades and stripes co-existing peacefully even in the most stratified conditions seems like such a pipe dream now. Varda has captured an almost unrecognizable America in the microcosm of California.
A young female singer sits next to her mural and the painter when a man comes by and asks her if she believes that it’s a woman’s world. This elicited a laugh from me as I imagined to my self what that same man would think of the amount of progress that has been made in the Women’s Lib movement? Varda uses a feminist brushstroke in this documentary as she aims for equity and a more balanced tone. She is an extension, a bridge if you will, for the muralist and viewer.
Varda even has the artists and subjects pose as a part of their murals so that the artworks come alive for the audience. One of the more humorous scenes is an interview with a muralist who has painted at least 2000 pigs on the side of Farmer John’s pig-processing plant. The pastoral scenes are idyllic but those images are erased when you think about what is going on inside the plant. The artist takes great pride in his work as he explains his process. There is a small Errol Morris-like element to some of the documentary. It is a fantastic film and has something to offer curious viewers.
In a pluralistic society, there are many truths. No one greater or less than the other. They co-exist side by side. Mur Murs is a beautiful look at what happens when we go beyond giving lip service to equity in America. We should be grateful for the lens through which Varda sees these truths and displays them for us all.
Note: After Saturday night’s screening of Mur Murs at 7:00, the UW Cinematheque will also screen Varda’s Documenteur at 8:30.
Mur Murs is included in the Criterion Collection’s Eclipse Series 43: Agnes Varda in California 3 DVD boxed set, and it is available at Four Star Video Cooperative and the Madison Public Library.