THE GLEANERS AND I – Under the Shadow of Gleaning

Some people use a camera to record important moments in their lives, but Agnès Varda used a small digital camera to “collect” what the world overlooks and turn it into something memorable in The Gleaners and I—a documentary in which she travels across France without a plan, without a large film crew, relying only on her eyes and her heart to gather the stories of ordinary people: farmers, artists, the unemployed, or even those who survive by rummaging through trash.

What is left by some… becomes the life of others

In an era when the world is overflowing with waste, The Gleaners and I introduce us to “gleaners”—people living in the shadow of what society deems worthless. Through Agnès Varda’s gentle gaze, we see lives beside piles of potatoes, market waste, or old plastic bottles—things that turn out to hold far more meaning than we might expect. There is a man who has not bought food for more than ten years yet still shares it with others, or a homeless man who teaches French literature to immigrants. Varda does not merely document; she “opens a space” for them to speak in ways the world has never listened to.

Art Is the Gleaning of the Soul

Varda does not gather only objects or people; she gathers the “heart of the world” in her camera. The scene where she picks up a heart-shaped potato with a smile becomes a symbol of love that has been neglected, or the collecting of a clock without hands as an image representing “time” that does not truly exist. This is a documentary that does not force conclusions upon the viewer but tells its story with warmth—like a friend who simply wants us to see the beauty in what others choose to overlook.

The Gleaners and I is a French-style art documentary that is both beautiful and profound. Even though it may simply collect small, everyday stories of ordinary people, it makes us pause to reflect on the world around us and reminds us that “what we throw away may be someone else’s entire life.”

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About Author

Poramuth Weerasakthara

An aspiring reviewer who wants to share stories from the voice within.