Cléo from 5 to 7 (French: Cléo de 5 à 7) is a 1962 French New Wave drama film written and directed by Agnès Varda. It follows Florence (Corinne Marchand), a young singer known professionally as "Cléo Victoire", from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. on June 21, as she waits to hear the results of a biopsy that will possibly confirm a diagnosis of stomach cancer. The supporting cast includes Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, and Dorothée Blanck, and composer Michel Legrand, who wrote the film's score, plays Bob, a composer and pianist. Les fiancés du pont MacDonald, a silent short film directed by Varda that Cléo watches at a theater, features a cast composed of several New Wave figures, among them Jean-Luc Godard, Anna Karina, Eddie Constantine, Sami Frey, and Jean-Claude Brialy.
The film was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.
Contents
Plot
In Paris, singer Cléopâtre "Cléo" Victoire is at a tarot card reading. The fortune teller says there is illness and change in her future, as well as a meeting with a talkative young man, but insists that the Death card just indicates a profound transformation, and not necessarily literal death. When the woman acts as though she cannot read palms after looking at Cléo's hand, however, Cléo becomes distraught, taking the reading as confirmation that the results of her biopsy will come back positive for stomach cancer that evening.
Cléo walks to a café, where her assistant, Angèle, is waiting for her. Angèle fails to calm her down, and she attracts the attention of the owner, who gives her a free coffee after hearing her troubles. The two women go hat shopping, and Cléo buys a black fur hat, despite Angèle telling her that it is unsuitable for summer weather. When Cléo wants to wear the hat out, Angèle reminds her that it is bad luck to wear—or even carry—something new on a Tuesday, so they have the shopkeeper send the hat to Cléo, and get in a taxi. One of Cléo's songs plays on the radio, and Cléo and Angèle talk with the female driver about the dangers of her job and listen to news coverage of the Algerian War.
