The motif of a journey is one of the oldest in literature. Much like Odysseus' travels, Cleo in Cleo from 5 to 7 is also engaged in a life-changing journey. What are some of the obstacles she must overcome? What are some of the things she learns? How does her outward journey mirror her inner one? What, if anything, is her goal?
In Cleo from 5 to 7, Cleo’s main goal is to overcome her fear of death. At the beginning of the film, Cleo finds out from a fortune teller that she may have cancer. She suddenly fears that she is going to die, and during her journey through the city, she searches internally and seemingly also externally for a resolution to this problem. Towards the beginning of the film, she is extremely superstitious, and she allows her fear of death to penetrate into various aspects of her life that would seem to most people to have nothing to do with death. After she buys a hat, her maid tells her not to carry new things on Tuesday. Later, she tells Cleo not to take a certain taxi because its number is unlucky. Although it is not Cleo who is making these statements, her maid is looking after her concerns, as Cleo admits multiple times throughout the film that she is superstitious. She is so afraid of death that she does not want to take any “chances” by, for example, involving herself with an unlucky number. After she and her friend watch the short film that her friend’s husband or boyfriend made, her friend drops a piece of glass, which breaks into multiple shards. Cleo is “overcome with fear”, as she sees the broken glass as an omen of death. Just a few minutes later, the two friends walk past a broken mirror on the side of a building. Her friend takes a look and seems ready to walk past, but Cleo seems troubled and is almost glued to the spot, as her friend drags her away. Cleo is not only superstitious, but, because of how worried she is, she sees her potential impending death all around her. When she leaves her home after a musical rehearsal, she comes upon a shop called “Bonne Santé” (Good Health). She takes a look at it, and the camera turns towards it too, as a human head would. This is another example of Cleo’s fears getting the better of her. The fact that the camera turns towards the shop to show its name shows the weight that Cleo places on it in her mind. Although this is not a bad omen like the broken mirror, it is a reminder to Cleo of what she supposedly does not have (good health). She overcomes her fear, however, when she finally gets the medical results. She is told that two months of treatment should cure her illness. What helps her overcome her fear is partially the fact that her illness is not terminal and can be cured relatively quickly. However, another aspect is that she has found Antoine, who she meets in the park. She falls in love with Antoine, who helps change her perspective. Love gives her something to care about in life other than fearing death. It also teaches her to cherish the time she has instead of worrying about when her time will come for death. Slowly, she starts to become happier and overcome her fear. It is fitting that Cleo begins to overcome her fear in nature, where there are fewer outside interferences. Previously, she had walked around the city, where there are many distractions, while nature is pure and is where she is able to find herself.
ReplyDeleteIn the film Cléo from 5 to 7, Cléo initially attempts to deny her cancer and fears that it will devastate her, but she eventually comes to terms with it. In the beginning of the film, Cléo dedicatedly follows superstitions and trusts a fortune teller. She freaks out when a mirror breaks, as it is a bad omen, and her friend has to reassure her to move on because she is so fixated even on minor things. She doesn't carry her new hat on Tuesday, and even though she really wants to she values the superstition more than the hat. However, her obsession with beauty is also very profound. I think that Cléo tries to make the most out of what she has, which is mainly her beauty, which she believes she may lose in the future due to her illness. During her singing rehearsal, she is very picky about which songs she wants to sing and easily become frustrated. She is very aware and pays attention to the smallest details, so much so that she is unable to relax. Even when she goes out with her childhood friend, it is clear that she is tense. Her obsessions cloud and take over her. Gradually, though, she comes to realize that her cancer is not the end of the world. One reason for this is that it is not a terminal illness. She also comes across Antoine, and they almost instantly become friends. He is in the army and about to leave, and he inspires her because even though he is risking his life and going through harsh battles, he is carefree and enjoys learning new things. After meeting him, she lightens up more. Then, when the doctor officially informs her of her cancer, she accepts it and moves on with her life. After the diagnosis is when she is able to be herself, which is represented in the movie as she takes off her wig and shares her other name, Florence. She cares less about her appearance as well. She was already calmer when she found out the doctor wasn't in town, and she doesn't throw a fit, in contrast with her previous actions. I think by the end of the movie, she has learned to have an open mindset and view towards her own life, like how a close up of a painting could be pitiful, but looking at the big picture, it is a work of art.
ReplyDeleteWhile some protagonists’ journeys include fighting physically with mythical beasts and enemies, the journey of the main character from Cleo from 5 to 7, Cleo, is an internal, psychological one which involves coming to terms with her diagnosis of cancer. The plot of most stories involve a character going through an actual voyage of some sort. However, as Cleo from 5 to 7 is part of the French New Wave, which broke the past rules of cinema, the movie does not follow this tradition. Instead, Cleo experiences a mental voyage throughout the course of the movie. As Cleo is going about her day, she is awaiting her medical diagnosis. The very first thing that she does that day is visit a fortune teller. Since Cleo is very afraid of death and she believes death may be in her future, she has a fear of the uncertainty of the future. This fear ultimately manifests itself into her belief in superstitions. Superstitions rely on the fact that little actions that you do everyday can bring about bad luck, and thus change what is in store for one’s future. Cleo’s fear of her future illustrates why she is so superstitious. Even if only subconsciously, part of her believes that she can change her fate. Eventually, after receiving her fortune reading, in which she finds out that “the illness is upon [her],” she has a complete meltdown in a nearby café. Her response to this news illustrates that she is completely opposed to her fate and does not want to accept it at all. After this meltdown, she travels around, doing various activities such as shopping, practicing singing, and even visiting an old friend, all in an effort to distract herself from her eventual diagnosis later that day. At one point, while on a stroll in the park, Cleo runs into a soldier named Antoine. Eventually they agree that Cleo will go with Antoine on the train if he accompanies her to receive her results. When the doctor isn’t there, Cleo and Antoine walk around the hospital. While they are strolling, after being reminded of how little time that the two have together, Cleo finally realizes that there is no point in eagerly awaiting the news any longer. Being anxious and fixated on the results will not change the results, so Cleo decides that she might as well enjoy her time with Antoine instead. While they are waiting, they run into the doctor who informs her of her diagnoses with cancer. However, despite her previous extreme reactions to even the thought of death, after being faced with the reality of her diagnosis, her “fear seems to have gone.” The stark contrast between her thinking before and after receiving the diagnosis illustrate how far of a journey that Cleo went on, despite not ever going on any physical voyage at all. Instead, she was able to completely shift her views on life, in realizing that there is no point in worrying about the future, as it is immutable, and she should instead enjoy the present. This shift is the result of a thorough self-reflective journey, proving that not all journeys are ones taken on foot.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the film, Cleo’s fear of death is her largest obstacle. After she finds out she might have cancer, she tries to justify her fear of death through superstitions, predictions, and other omens. At the beginning of the film, Cleo visits a tarot card reader/fortune teller, and this is the only time in the film when there is color. Following the gloomy prediction that the teller provides, Cleo loses some hope and the film becomes black and white as to represent her despair. However, Cleo uses superstitions to help accept her own mortality as she is constantly searching for an answer that will provide good news and tell her that her future is endless. When she visits her close friend, the friend’s partner shows her a film which she finds amusing. However, she doesn’t realize that the film applies to her own situation. The film shows the story of a normal man’s life, but when he puts on dark sunglasses, his view on life becomes desolate. Thinking his girlfriend died, he goes to buy flowers for her funeral and also gets a handkerchief to wipe his tears, but when he takes his sunglasses off, he discovers that his girlfriend isn’t dead, and that his sad perceived reality was false. It seems that Cleo puts on these same shaded sunglasses as she has written herself off as ill and believes that her life is coming to a near end before she even receives her test results. Cleo is attracted to the pain and death in the world, until later in the film when she finds love. When she is walking through the streets of Paris, she doesn’t recognize the beauty of the city and its people. Rather, she is lured to the dreariness, as she sees someone eating frogs and another person stabbing themselves in the bicep for entertainment. Furthermore, when a mirror breaks, she assumes that to be an omen of death, and she then finds a crime scene where a man was shot. Selfishly, she assumes these signs are for her and only continues to worry more. However, she finally hurdles over her own worries when she meets a soldier in the park. The two quickly fall in love, and although Cleo’s fear of having cancer comes true, she finally comes to terms with it. Her conversations with the soldier and her realization that the soldier knows of the great pain and death associated with war help remedy her shallow outlook on life. Ultimately, love seems to be the one and only true remedy for Cleo’s existential dread.
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