Kung-Fu Master!

The story here is about a woman falling for the 14 year old classmate of her daughter's, but forget about the story now, it's not a prurient film of course and seeing just a 'social issue' movie would miss the whole point. This is a small exercise on context by Varda but as astute as ever.

Varda seems to be parodying the notion that her film would have just a social relevance by having the AIDS scare of the time so prevalent throughout - the film is from the late 80s, it evokes a distinct air of the time when youths crowded arcade parlors and TV segments on HIV sounded doom for mankind - or preempts it, perhaps unsure herself if it's not unavoidably going to be that in the end.

But see something else, about the narrative horizon in which things acquire their significance.

The woman who simply has these feelings one day that threaten to bring down everything, in context of what she experiences, it's a real affection for the boy, it shakes her in earnest. The boy who acts all grownup around her, bringing her flowers like a man would, later in a hotel plans to seduce her, but Varda has specifically taken care to show that he becomes just a kid with his peers or always off to a video game.

The film's title comes from a video game that he plays in the arcade parlor, in the game's nested story-within a hero fights monsters to make it all the way to the top level so he can set free a princess kept prisoner. This is of course a deliberate confluence by Varda. We'd like to think of love in this way, as something that frees us, but what if it's sometimes fiction? Meaning, the woman is simply not mindful that the boy inhabits a wholly different context than hers, simply playing a game of love.

And this is what Varda marvelously depicts later in a scene where the kids are goofing with Nazi paraphernalia in a room. A parent who walked in and thought the kids have strayed into budding Nazism would have only been misled by appearances, inhabiting a horizon in which objects (Nazi stuff) are charged with their narrative significance. But as the scene plays out Varda shows that it's evidently just another game for them.

This is the exercise, on how phenomena give rise to illusory narrative, on how illusory narrative traps us in illusory significance, chimeras of our desires. It isn't about nostalgia or passionate love. Love doesn't equal truth, unless it's shared in truth. This was a point made in Le Bonheur. In my ongoing project I'm after filmmakers who abet mindfulness, the wisdom that comes from it, and Varda has this.

I undertook a time machine type ride heavily imbued with nostalgia when I saw this film in 2005.Kung Fu master directed by the unofficial grand mother of French new wave cinema Agnes Varda is as relevant in our contemporary times as it was 20 years ago in a not so distant past of 1987.It was a time of ubiquitous video games and all the unending worries,fears and anxieties related to a mysterious disease called AIDS. In this film it was nice to see some young French actors who ever since have nicely grown up such as Lou Doillon,Charlotte Gainsbourg and Mathieu Demy.The mystical Agnes Varda touch is very much evident and she takes her viewers on a tour of two different countries where our leading lady Jane Birkin has resided :England and France.Kung Fu master also contains in itself a puppy tale of juvenile love.In the hands of a less versatile director this would have been an absolute catastrophe but due to Agnes Varda's experience in handling such a complex tale of human emotions, what we get is one of the most personal wonderful statements of 21th Century on love.This is the only plausible reason for viewers to watch this film.

The idea for "Kung-Fu Master" was proposed by Jane Birkin in Agnès Varda's tribute documentary to her, "Jane B. par Agnès V." (1987). Birkin suggests a film in which a 40-year old woman would fall hopelessly in love with a teenage boy, suggesting herself and Varda's and Jacques Demy's son, Mathieu, for the leading roles. That very same year, the idea would develop into the rapturing, bewitching, winning "Kung-Fu Master", a film unlike any other ever made.

Mary-Jane (Birkin), 40, divorced, independent, living with her two daughters (her real-life daughters, 16-year-old Charlotte Gainsbourg and 5 year-old Lou Doillon), suddenly finds herself terribly attracted to one of her daughter's schoolmates, 14-year-old Julien (Mathieu Demy), and vice-versa. From then on, Mary-Jane and Mathieu find the unlikeliest ways to meet (including Mary-Jane bumping her car on Julien on purpose!) as they face love's highs and lows, trying to make it thrive against society's ponderous prejudices and Julien's own inevitable "growing up".

The film is a hoot from start to finish. The title is a reference to the Arcade video game, where a Kung-Fu Master must endlessly fight increasingly dangerous obstacles and enemies (as must Julien and Mary-Jane) to save his captive sweetheart, who is kept tied up, perennially crying for help. The opening sequence of the film, in which Mathieu Demy in full Kung-Fu costume skilfully simulates the robotic choreography of the video game hero is delightfully funny and wins you at once. The dialog sparkles with jeux-de-mots and a mix of English and French sense of humor.

Jane Birkin was probably never more beautiful or appealing than here, her angular, bony beauty serving her emotional transparency and complete commitment to her role. Mathieu Demy, inexperienced, is nevertheless charming, well-cast and never phony in his difficult role. Varda's direction of her own son is amazing: it looks as if she's discovering his acting potentialities and the first signs of manhood along with Mary-Jane and ourselves. The cast includes Birkin's family (parents, siblings, nephews, daughters etc), who appear nonplussed with the touchy issue and ultimately even help the odd couple. Charlotte Gainsbourg shines with her urchin face, special talent and sensibility; she's a natural. Baby Lou Doillon is lovely throughout, adding to the feeling of spontaneity that gives the whole film a slightly magical touch, as if we were watching improvised scenes, not scripted ones. Mary-Jane's and Julien's scenes together are far from risqué, but filled with emotional rapture, originality, humor. Sex is implied, but never at the core of things; love -- romantic, throbbing, unconventional love -- is.

"Kung-Fu Master" is a fable about the nature and possibilities of romantic love in obtrusive circumstances, and MAYBE it hints that women, girls and boys are better suited for it than grown-up men (which is probably true!). When Mary-Jane and Julien go to a desert island so that they can fully experience their love far from society's burden, we can see why they're at once sacred (they're pure, unbiased by interest, conventions, hypocrisy) and doomed (their love can only exist fully and freely away from conventional society). The film's ultimate goal may be to translate women's infinite, inexhaustible talent for loving and teaching love, regardless of how unlikely the object of their love is, or how powerful the enemies, or how complicated the obstacles; women are the invincible, undisputed Kung-Fu Masters of love, even if/when they don't win.

This is arguably Varda's and Birkin's finest hour; they have made a film that is a triumph of poetic sensibility filled with humor and intelligence; it's a tribute to feminine pride (no man could EVER make a film like this). Enchanting from start to finish, always surprising, never tacky or schmaltzy, "Kung-Fu Master" is a one-of-a-kind film just waiting to be (re)discovered -- but most likely destined to be locked away, in these hypocritical PC times of ours that furiously prevent renewed access to films as brave as this unless they're scandalous (which KFM is not). If you can find it, do see it by all means: and pay special attention to the beautiful, subtle, rich finale. Beware, though: "Kung-Fu Master" may be hazardous to your cynicism and conventionalism, and may restart your belief in l'amour fou.

The story of how this got made is plainly delightful; it's fun to know how Jane Birkin and Agnès Varda conceived of the project and went about making it, with their own families heavily involved. Beyond that I had no foreknowledge or expectations for the film, and by golly, I was taken by surprise. It's a great credit to Birkin, daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, and Varda's son Mathieu Demy, that they all slide so easily into their parts; the acting couldn't feel more natural, and everyone is very charming. Of course, that does also make 'Le petit amour,' or 'Kung fu master,' decidedly awkward for the places it goes with the central relationship, and with frank discussion of sex that will seem perfectly normal for European viewers and possibly far less so for Americans with our woefully conservative society. Yet while there are absolutely uncomfortable aspects of the feature - emphatically, ideas that are and should be taboo in real life - I'd be plainly lying if I said this weren't an interesting, compelling movie, and enjoyable. I feel like the entirety of these 80 minutes are one big content warning for inappropriate relationships between adults and minors, but be that as it may, it's very well done and worth checking out.

Everything about 'Le petit amour' reinforces the personal, intimate, and fluid and organic feel of the picture. While the cast are foremost in contributing to those airs, Varda's smart direction, Pierre-Laurent Chénieux's gentle and warm cinematography, and the very real filming locations and earnest production design all lend to it as well. There's no shortage of drama to unfold here, but the overall effect is a low-key tone of homely, familial affection, like it's a story that could believably play out for real. That definitely goes for Varda and Birkin's screenplay, too, giving us complicated characters who are just a shade removed from the close-knit dynamics of the actual people involved. The dialogue and scene writing range from convivial and inviting, to cringe-worthy and mildly distressing, but always retain the sense of sincerity and realism that makes the movie feel pure and whole, as though it were both very authentic and exactly what it should and could have been. In that regard I'm pointedly reminded of Louis Malle's 'Pretty baby' of ten years prior, which very much shared in broaching the forbidden. The verisimilitude is bolstered by contemporary references (the AIDS crisis in full swing; the burgeoning popularity of videogames, and Dungeons & Dragons), and at large the result is a story that certainly puts one ill at ease, but is deeply absorbing and satisfying as a viewing experience.

I was taken aback, for sure. But let's not mince words: this is excellent. Given the topics broached on the side, one should be aware of serophobic and homophobic language from ignorant schoolboys - instances of dialogue that still pale in comparison, in terms of content warnings, to the 100-foot tall, flashing neon sign that is the core narrative thrust. Provided one isn't so disturbed by such storytelling as to immediately steer away from the title, however, I can't overstate just how good 'Le petit amour' is. Every last element is superb, with outstanding writing, direction, and acting; all the work served up by those behind the scenes is fantastic in helping to realize the sordid yet congenial tableau. It's a tale that any thinking, feeling person should find troubling, but with cinema being the perfect medium to explore even the unseemly side of life, the representation here - the tremendous care, intelligence, and skill that everyone poured into it - is exceptional. It won't sit well with all viewers, nor appeal to all, and there's no singular stroke of brilliance at any point. Ultimately, however, the marvelous, unique effort pays off handsomely, and if one has a chance to watch, then I think this earns a high, hearty recommendation.

The plot is understandable for the initial 50 minutes or so. The emotions and feelings that are not meant to be shared or are considered taboo are brought out innocently and "understandably". But it all changes once the plots takes you to London. It remains no lonher 'understandable" and begs the viewr to as the question: "why?'. Birkin's mother's suggestions of handling her emotions still baffles me, and I just can't imagine that conversation happening in any way. That scene and then the subsequent 20 minutes before the end just doesn't do it for me and what could have been a genuine story of desire, feelings, boundaries, temptations, ethics etc., turns into something unrealistic and unbelievable.