One Sings, the Other Doesn’t: The  Rise of Female Directors in History 

Agnès Varda's "One Sings, the Other Doesn't" holds a special significance in the history of woman's film. It serves as an introduction to the essence of woman's film is and provides a quick insight into the development of the feminist movement. Unlike traditional female-centric films that often focus on women's struggles, Varda's work is gentle yet resilient, flowing like breath.

As one of only two female directors in France during the early 1950s, Agnès Varda was undoubtedly unique. Not just in France, but throughout the Western world, female directors were few and far between. This severe gender imbalance indicates gender oppression.

However, this situation did not exist from the beginning of cinema. During a time when debates about whether cinema was an art form were still ongoing, female directors were just as active on the frontlines of filmmaking as their male counterparts. Before cinema became a defined art, it was still an unexplored territory with no gender attributes attached. Cinema's essence remained ambiguous and uncertain with so much left to discover.

The establishment of the classical Hollywood film industry system marked a significant moment in the film industry, giving it a distinctly male-dominated flavour. This structure was established alongside patriarchal values. As classical Hollywood grew to establish a monopoly, the reality of gender oppression also intensified.

In classical Hollywood films, male characters were always active, heroic, and powerful, while female characters were beautiful, sexy, innocent, and passive. Female roles in classical Hollywood were undoubtedly a projection of male desires. This led to the erasure of real-world female faces, with women on screen existing not as women but as "non-men," serving as visual spectacle or objects of desire.

The arrival of the French New Wave was revolutionary. Varda brought new life to filmmaking. Andre Bazin's praise for her debut film "La Pointe Courte" was that it was "free and pure." This high praise can be seen in almost all of Varda's films. At that time, she had only watched less than ten films. Still, her bold and free creative approach, improvisational film language style, and poetic narration opened up even more possibilities for film art innovation. This creative attitude and effect greatly inspired later filmmakers like Godard.

Agnès Varda's significance lies in the historical context of her time. As mentioned before, the establishment of the Hollywood film industry had somewhat stagnated the art of cinema. This was not only a problem faced by Hollywood but also affected French cinema, which was gradually becoming overly commercialized. In response, a group of "rebels" emerged, aiming to find ways to resist the commercialization seen in Hollywood films. Their main focus was to explore new forms of filmmaking that challenged the prevailing trends. Agnès Varda, along with other filmmakers of the French New Wave and similar movements, embraced this mission, bringing innovative and artistically daring approaches to their work. In this way, Varda's films became a testament to this resistance and the search for alternative cinematic forms.

In "One Sings, the Other Doesn’t," Varda abandoned typecast elements and the conventional film language of classical Hollywood. The language in the film is peaceful and simple, building the expression of the movie through a prose-like structure. There is no deliberate emphasis on dramatic conflict or artificial aestheticism; Varda simply tenderly recreates life in people's vision.

This "anti-Hollywood" style of expression is related to Varda as a feminist. Woman's film theory is built upon critiques of classical Hollywood. Early feminist filmmakers, viewed the narrative of classical Hollywood as patriarchal. Therefore, finding the unique expression of female directors became an important responsibility for feminist filmmakers. For Varda, she was not only exploring anti-patriarchal narratives but also trying to use a female perspective to recreate female images, respond to issues faced by women, and construct female identity.

In "One Sings, the Other Doesn’t," Agnès Varda portrays female characters in a realistic manner, giving voice and visibility to those whose stories were often overlooked. She fearlessly portrays breastfeeding scenes and pays meticulous attention to depicting the lives of women. Chantal Akerman, a renowned feminist director, once expressed her desire to capture women's lives in a comprehensive and detailed manner out of love and respect for them. In Varda's narrative, women are no longer portrayed as illusory or weak figures as seen in classical Hollywood films. Instead, they are depicted as gentle, determined, and intelligent individuals. Varda's films position women as subjects rather than distant or imagined "others," allowing their experiences and perspectives to take center stage.

The film depicts the life trajectories of two women. In her portrayal, women constantly reconstruct themselves in the face of failure and tenaciously live amidst the constraints of fate and reality.

After experiencing a setback in her marriage, Suzanne taught herself typing and founded a family planning centre to assist more women. Meanwhile, Pauline remained steadfast in her pursuit of freedom after her failed marriage, creating a band and performing everywhere to advocate for women's rights.

In the context of a patriarchal film system, Varda continuously sought unique expressions for women, integrating their accumulated life experiences into her stories and characters. These characters were not hysterical but always faced life's injustices and misfortunes with wisdom and rationality. Both Suzanne and Pauline deeply cherished their identity as women and their lives as such.

Therefore, "One Sings, the Other Doesn't" inevitably addresses various dilemmas in women's lives: the inability to have an abortion openly, the disadvantaged position in marriage, and the collision between ideals and love. This is why I say that this film is a "great female epic." Not only does it depict the historical background before the narrative, but also because "One Sings, the Other Doesn't" responds to women's issues and dialectically portrays their psychology. All of these make the faces of women more authentic and clear.

Interestingly, when combined with the real world, Pauline seems to be a miniature version of Varda. The feminist movements portrayed in the film, Varda herself has participated in all of them. Like the "rebellious" teenage Pauline, she fiercely fights for women's rights, advocated for the legalization of abortion, and even signed the famous "343 Whores Declaration." She even secretly opened an abortion centre to help more women. Undoubtedly, the feminist movement in France in the last century had a significant intellectual impact on Varda.

In the film, Pauline and her band sing many humorous and moving songs, all of which were written by Varda. Through Pauline's gentle singing voice, she is expressing her love for women and her expression of certain feminist ideas.