Doc Review: The Gleaners and I

In a preliminary viewing of The Gleaners and I, by Agnes Varda, traces of multiple documentary modes are visible within the first ten minutes, including: the poetic, ethnographic, observational, and performative, but after further evaluation, the film maker's personal voice becomes the foundation which holds the rest together. The central topic of the film is the history of gleaning from a contemporary viewpoint and examples of modern day gleaning in France recorded by Agnes. Gleaning refers to gathering food from already-reaped fields or leftovers from trash receptacles. Underneath the simple concept of gleaning is the voice of Agnes. Her voice synthesizes and searches for meaning in the moment, unifies itself with the subjects, and preserves the things they learn from each other. Agnes' voice can be compared to other personal voices like that of Ross McElwee, in that her voice, on a surface level interpretation may seem to digress from the main theme, but in actuality, true meaning is only discovered in the tangents.

Agnes uses the film medium, the camera, and the documentary mode of personal voice to understand her subjects - the gleaners. Agnes' technique of capturing reality and nature as she sees it, like a diary entry, is similar to Siegfried Kracauer's concept of the redemption of reality. Kracauer, a film theoretician, constructed this theory that if reality is captured on camera and projected onto a screen, it is redeemed from oblivion, because the spectator is reminded of reality's value. Agnes takes this theory a step further when she records herself as a participant in gleaning in order to understand what meaning gleaners discover in the process of preserving the unwanted. On several occasions while interviewing gleaners, the subjects confess that gleaning is prohibited, yet that does not deter them from gleaning. As a film maker, Agnes follows the gleaners' example by ignoring the traditional conventions of filmmaking. In the final edit she includes an accidentally recorded shot of the lens cap dangling from the camera, an arbitrary shot of her coming her hair, and acknowledgements of the filmic process.

Agnes does not shy away from the prohibited techniques of filmmaking, but rather preserves and appreciates the material that normally others discard in editing. At one point, she even comments on the mold growing on her ceiling after she returns home from Japan, deciding she likes the mold; even attached to it as a form of mosaic art. In this way, as Agnes translates meaning into a form that she can understand - practicing prohibited filmmaking techniques and preserving personal voice, she shares her perspective on gleaning with the spectator and allows them to make their own interpretations.

Though the digressions that Agnes submits the audience to are capricious at times they are not without a pattern, consisting of her common concerns that again, are expressed in a diaristic fashion. One of her most prevalent concerns is aging. By continually filming her wrinkled and aged hand up close, and in detail, she seems to express a desire to preserve her youth. When she watches the semi-trucks pass by, counting them and encircling them with her fingers, she reverts to her child-like ways, all in hopes of preserving the moment. Reality is preserved by capturing its image on a camera. Preservation according to Agnes has a lot to do with lingering on shots and spending time with the image. The lingering shots of big rigs passing by, of heart-shaped potatoes, or of sheep blocking the road, all compliment the idea of gleaning and define it in a way that Agnes can appreciate through her artist's eye. She becomes the gleaner in a different way than other gleaners, but she learns through observing. The audience is invited to do the same type of observing, but is not limited to one definition of gleaning.

In-between the tangents Agnes follows are the stories or observations of other gleaners and a brief history of gleaning. Long before deviations from the accurate history and truth are possible, Agnes and the spectator must learn what it is to glean from other people's point of view. Agnes begins and ends with a painting of the original gleaners to recount the history of gleaning and explain, that it not only has a past, but that it was an ancient practice in the Bible, and more importantly, an acceptable practice at that time. After the history lesson on gleaning, Agnes travels around France and interviews various types of modern day gleaners. Some gleaners like the traditional ones, gleaned leftover potatoes or food from a trash can, while others gleaned recycled material and junk on the street to use in sculptures or paintings and other forms of gleaner art. Louis Pons collected junk and inspired by what he observed he painted modern art.

Another group of gleaners waded out into oyster beds to glean the oysters and clams unobtainable to the machinery. They too were prohibited and limited to only seven pounds of oysters or clams, but that didn't discourage them from their goal, because they found value in what others would dismiss as junk or passed its expiration date. The most peculiar gleaner was a man who chose to glean food from trash receptacles even though he had a job, social security number, and probably enough money to buy food. His reason for gleaning was to not let the food go to waste and to be an activist for a good cause.

Agnes introduced the spectator to all these different people who see gleaning as something valuable and a unique part of their lives, but she introduced them for a greater purpose than just to give examples of modern day gleaning. By showing a variety of gleaners in different situations and with different perspectives on gleaning, Agnes proved that gleaning is not a thing of the past or a dying practice. Both gleaning and Agnes are still much alive as long as excess continues to be removed and memories are created. It is because of Agnes' observations of multiple gleaners that the spectator learns that gleaning is not partial to one race, gender, or personality, and that meaning is not limited to one easily-defined answer. People are complicated. They do not always comprehend their own actions, let alone the reasoning for others' actions.

Agnes doesn't force feed the spectator explanations behind each gleaner's practices or the symbolic meaning behind her tangents. She wanders into excursions from the main topic and ponders the significance of her recorded images, because she is still collecting meaning and hasn't unveiled all the answers yet. By structuring the film in the somewhat directionless mode of personal voice, Agnes is able to lead the spectator on a journey of discovery, not reporting what she learns, but experiencing what she learns with the spectator in a synchronized style. And in the end, both Agnes and the spectator glean whatever truth they can grasp and preserve it for their benefit and others, who follow.