Agnès Varda’s joyous political manifesto One Sings, the Other Doesn’t was released in 1977, two years after abortion was legalised in France. Six years earlier, Varda had signed a declaration with 343 other women admitting to having had an illegal abortion, challenging the law that imposed up to ten years in prison for the act. From this political struggle, Varda created a feminist musical that finds utopian joy in the friendship and solidarity between women.
The story begins in 1962 when young Pauline (Valerie Mairesse) lends her friend Suzanne (Thérèse Liotard) money for an illegal abortion. Ten years later, the women reunite at a demonstration advocating for abortion rights. Pauline, now a hippie musician named Pomme, performs with her folk band. Suzanne, who runs a women’s health clinic, is at the protest with her daughter. Through the enduring friendship of the two, depicted through encounters, postcards, and letters, One Sings, the Other Doesn’t recounts the ongoing struggle for women’s rights. The lyrics for the film’s stunning musical numbers were written by Varda herself, who also serves as the film’s narrator.
Inari Ylinen