The Gleaners and I
Agnès Varda turns the act of recovering leftovers into a playful, compassionate meditation on poverty, waste, and the art of paying attention.
Overview
A poignant exploration of the overlooked and the resourceful in rural France.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- playful
- witty
- warm
- reflective afternoon
- arthouse documentary night
What critics said
Critics broadly praise Varda's inventive self-reflexive style, humane encounters, and ability to make a political examination of gleaning both accessible and playful.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Agnès Varda films herself as a participant and describes her own collecting and observing as a form of gleaning.
The film connects potatoes, rubbish, found objects, and found art through the practices of gleaners and the director.
Its central subjects collect leftover crops and discarded goods for sustenance, necessity, or choice.
Varda combines an intimate picaresque journey and found-art discoveries with a gentle examination of poverty and food waste.
Films like The Gleaners and I, and why
The Salt of the Earth
Shared observational documentary approach, rural working-class subjects, and humane attention to marginalized lives.
Stories We Tell
Shared essayistic nonfiction form, political inquiry, and intimate director-subject relationship.
Faces Places
Shared French documentary tradition, everyday social observation, and poetic treatment of ordinary people.
Movie Details
- Director
- Agnès Varda
- Release Date
- 2000-07-07
- Runtime
- 82 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (231)
Cast
- Agnès Varda
- Bodan Litnanski
- François Wertheimer
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- DocAlliance Films
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, DocAlliance Films
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Gleaners and I about?
- Agnès Varda turns the act of recovering leftovers into a playful, compassionate meditation on poverty, waste, and the art of paying attention.
- What is The Gleaners and I like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Gleaners and I as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Gleaners and I violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Gleaners and I.
- What did critics think of The Gleaners and I?
- Critics broadly praise Varda's inventive self-reflexive style, humane encounters, and ability to make a political examination of gleaning both accessible and playful.
- Which films are like The Gleaners and I?
- Films with a similar feel include The Salt of the Earth, Stories We Tell, and Faces Places.
- How long is The Gleaners and I?
- The Gleaners and I runs 82 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Gleaners and I?
- In United States, The Gleaners and I streams on DocAlliance Films.
