Cléo de cinq à sept is a film about a woman and two hours of her life while she awaits a medical result that will reveal her ailment, if there is any. These two hours are restless and the events within that period as well as her inward and outward distresses make the film. While the concept may seem straightforward, there are a certain points I'd like to discuss on.
Cleo is a rising young singer, quite successful in her craft though she's not satisfied. She suspects she's ill but the people around her does not pay much heed to her. On one side, there's her maid who constantly fuels Cleo's superstitions while at the same time being condescending from a conservative perspective. On the other side, there is her lover who has taken Cleo for granted and there are a couple of musicians with whom she works who think of her as only the vessel of their song, brushing aside her will. Both of these two sides signify the long prevailing general view towards women--as if they are nervous, anxious, fidgety and cannot handle the real world or art.
Cleo breaks out of this chain and her will becomes dominant. Though people tell her of her success, she's not pampered by it. She believes she attain greater art, hence her egoism triumphs and bursts the shell of condescending society. This is perhaps why she feels happiness finding out she was truly ill and required serious treatment. The medical result proves her individual assessment was right, where the general bias against women was wrong.
French feminism of that time is strong within the film and that is warranted. The filmmaker, Agnes Varda, was one of the few women who dominated this art form (although Varda was more than a filmmaker) and she was a strong advocate of the movement. This particular film also puts forward questions regarding happiness, bonding, relationship, meaning of life and personal achievement.
From a technical viewpoint, Cleo from 5 to 7 is marvellous. Varda uses mirror to reflects Cleos state of being and develops it throughout the film. While Cleo waits for the result, she roams around the streets of Paris, noticing people and their endless chatter, seeking solace and quiet all the while. People with their unhappy partners, middle aged gossip-loving ladies, judgemental married women, glances from lecherous passing men, street performers with their peculiar trades--all of it adds and signifies Cleo's inner turmoil and anticipation. This is cinematically genius. Schopenhauer said women do not become geniuses, he was wrong. Varda's genius is beyond doubt. But it's not his fault, his society did not allow women to become genius and he couldn't see past determinism based on history up until his era.
P.S. I loved Godard and Anna Karina's cameo in the silent film within it. Those French new wave folks really were all over each other, weren't they? And the achieved greater heights than any other movement. Such a great endeavor for cinema!