The Gleaners & I

I haven't seen too many Varda documentaries yet, but I don't think I'm a very big fan. She's an interesting and peculiar lady, but I don't seem to care for anything she does or has to say out of fiction. The Gleaners and I was another painful reminder that this type of human interest films are by far the worst thing cinema has to offer.

Varda was inspired by a painting of "gleaners", people who pick up leftovers after the harvest and are permitted to do with the goods what they want. What you get is interviews with these people, and some digressions when Varda explores themes and subjects linked to the concept of gleaning.

The documentary looks terribly cheap, I didn't care for any of the people featured, nor for Varda's digressions. And that's it really. The doc reminded me of horrible TV interviews in human interest programs, the exact thing that has driven me to abandon TV and embrace cinema. A big nope for me.