Of All the Things 

Le Bonheur (Happiness) is the third feature film from the late and great Agnès Varda. Released in 1965, the film follows François(Jean-Claude Drouot), a man who seemingly has it all—he’s happily married to his wife, Thérèse(Claire Drouot), and has two children who he loves deeply. François’ life takes a turn, however, when he meets Émilie(Marie-France Boyer) a post office worker, and falls in love with her. Stuck between the love he has for his wife and his newfound love for Émilie, François begins to split his time between the two women, desperate to maintain balance and find a way to be with them both. Effortlessly beautiful and surprisingly tragic, Le Bonheur displays all of Varda’s talents within its short runtime.

Le Bonheur’s tagline is “Only a woman could dare to make this film”. This statement ultimately rings true, as much of the film is about men using and taking advantage of women for the love they offer; though Thérèse loves François deeply, her love is still not enough to satisfy him, and he doesn’t respect her in the way that she desires.

Varda is known for incorporating feminist themes into her films, such as her second feature Cléo From 5 to 7, which has often been hailed as a vital piece of feminist cinema. Le Bonheur, though told through the lens of a man, is a critique on the treatment of women in society.

Women are too often used and discarded, only valued for what they have to offer to men as opposed to being seen as their own individuals. The women in Le Bonheur are only present to further François’ storyline—however, whereas this may be unintentional if this film was directed by a man, Varda does this intentionally to reflect on the way in which women are deemed valuable based on how much their life centers on men.