Along the Coast

Along the Coast

A humorous travelogue of the French Riviera.

1958 · 26 min · ★ 7.3 · Documentary

Tongue-in-cheek look at the French Riviera, especially in summer when it overflows with tourists. Reviews its history and famous visitors; displays its faux-exotic buildings, its crowded beaches, its trees and monuments; and, pokes fun at the colors women wear and the vagaries of fashion. The film celebrates the use of "Eden" as a place name, suggesting that paradise comes to the coast after all are gone, perhaps only on a remote island beach.

Directed by Agnès Varda · Written by Agnès Varda

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Cast

Roger Coggio Narrator (voice)
Anne Ollivier Narrator (voice)
Jacopo Nizi Souffleur (voice)
Brigitte Bardot Self (archive footage)
Sophia Loren Self (archive footage)

Make it a double feature

1h 56m together

Along the Coast

Cléo from 5 to 7

Both from Agnès Varda.

More from Agnès VardaSee all →

Varda by Agnès

Varda by Agnès · 2019

Varda by Agnès

SeriesDocumentary

An unpredictable documentary from a fascinating storyteller, Agnès Varda’s last film sheds light on her experience as a director, bringing a personal insight to what she calls “cine-writing,” traveling from Rue Daguerre in Paris to Los Angeles and Beijing.

Varda by Agnès

Varda by Agnès · 2019

Varda by Agnès

MovieDocumentary

An unpredictable documentary from a fascinating storyteller, Agnès Varda’s last film sheds light on her experience as a director, bringing a personal insight to what she calls "cine-writing," traveling from Rue Daguerre in Paris to Los Angeles and Beijing.

The Gleaners and I

The Gleaners and I · 2000

The Gleaners and I

MovieDocumentary

Varda focuses her eye on gleaners: those who scour already-reaped fields for the odd potato or turnip. Her investigation leads from forgotten corners of the French countryside to off-hours at the green markets of Paris, following those who insist on finding a use for that which society has cast off, whether out of necessity or activism.

The Beaches of Agnès

The Beaches of Agnès · 2008

The Beaches of Agnès

MovieDocumentary

Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.

The Young Girls of Rochefort

The Young Girls of Rochefort · 1967

The Young Girls of Rochefort

MovieRomanceComedy

In the seaside town of Rochefort, twin sisters Delphine and Solange dream of love and artistic fulfillment beyond their quiet lives. As sailors, artists, musicians, and chance visitors pass through town during a weekend fair, a web of near-misses and romantic longing brings ideal partners tantalizingly close—without their realizing it.

Cléo from 5 to 7

Cléo from 5 to 7 · 1962

Cléo from 5 to 7

Agnès Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman’s life, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a spirited mix of vivid vérité and melodrama, featuring a score by Michel Legrand and cameos by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.

Faces Places

Faces Places · 2017

MovieDocumentary

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

Jacquot

Jacquot · 1991

Jacquot Demy, the son of a garage owner and a hairdresser, is fascinated by cinema and decides to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker by any means necessary.

Happiness

Happiness · 1965

MovieDramaRomance

Though married to the good-natured, beautiful Thérèse, young husband and father François finds himself falling unquestioningly into an affair with an attractive postal worker. One of Agnès Varda's most provocative films, 'Le bonheur' examines, with a deceptively cheery palette and the spirited strains of Mozart, the ideas of fidelity and happiness in a modern, self-centered world.

Vagabond

Vagabond · 1985

Mona Bergeron is dead, her frozen body found in a ditch in the French countryside. From this, the film flashes back to the weeks leading up to her death. Through these flashbacks, Mona gradually declines as she travels from place to place, taking odd jobs and staying with whomever will offer her a place to sleep. Mona is fiercely independent, craving freedom over comfort, but it is this desire to be free that will eventually lead to her demise.

Daguerréotypes

Daguerréotypes · 1978

Daguerréotypes

MovieDocumentary

An intimate portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers of the Rue Daguerre in Paris, a picturesque street that has been the filmmaker’s home for more than 50 years.

Uncle Yanco

Uncle Yanco · 1967

MovieDocumentary

While in San Francisco for the promotion of her last film in October 1967, Agnès Varda, tipped by her friend Tom Luddy, gets to know a relative she had never heard of before, Jean Varda, nicknamed "Yanco". This hitherto unknown uncle lives on a boat in Sausalito, is a painter, has adopted a hippie lifestyle and loves life. The meeting is a very happy one.

La Pointe Courte

La Pointe Courte · 1956

La Pointe Courte

MovieDramaRomance

A penetrating study of a marriage on the rocks, set against the backdrop of a small Mediterranean fishing village. Both a stylized depiction of the complicated relationship between a married couple and a documentary-like look at the daily struggles of the inhabitants of Sète in the South of France.

The World of Jacques Demy

The World of Jacques Demy · 1995

The World of Jacques Demy

MovieDocumentary

Agnès Varda's documentary portrait of her late husband, Jacques Demy. A companion piece to her Jacquot de Nantes.

Last Tango in Paris

Last Tango in Paris · 1972

Last Tango in Paris

MovieDramaRomance

A recently widowed American begins an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman.

Jane B. by Agnès V.

Jane B. by Agnès V. · 1988

Jane B. by Agnès V.

The interests, obsessions, and fantasies of two singular artists converge in this inspired collaboration between Agnès Varda and her longtime friend Jane Birkin. Made over the course of a year and motivated by Birkin’s fourtieth birthday—a milestone she admits to have some anxiety over—Jane B. by Agnès V. contrasts the private, reflective Birkin with Birkin the icon.

More Like This

The Story of the Weeping Camel

The Story of the Weeping Camel · 2004

The Story of the Weeping Camel

MovieDocumentaryDrama

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter