Le Bonheur

Varda fills her frames with riots of nature and color, like Bonnard paintings come to life, and with an erotic intimacy to match, choreographing physical passion with unabashed but formally controlled delight.

The delicately hued colors of the picturesque French countryside suggests an impossibly idyllic existence belied by the churning drama underneath.

This particular film’s wrestling with the notions of happiness and love still proves more stimulating than myriad works that deal with transgressive ideas concerning relationships in a more explicit, openly provocative fashion.

Varda takes great care with each frame of her lusciously shot film while presenting a nuanced perspective on polyamory that eschews the pearl-clutching ethics of non-monogamy that consumes far too many narratives on the subject.