One Sings, the Other Doesn't
| One Sings, the Other Doesn't | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Agnès Varda |
| Produced by | Ciné Tamaris |
| Starring |
Thérèse Liotard Valérie Mairesse Robert Dadiès |
Release dates | 1977 (France) |
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
One Sings, the Other Doesn't (French: L'une chante, l'autre pas) is a 1977 French film by Agnès Varda that focuses on the lives of two women against the backdrop of the Women's Movement in 1970s France.
Plot
Pauline (Valérie Mairesse), a schoolgirl studying for her baccalaureate, wanders into a gallery and recognizes an old friend, Suzanne (Thérèse Liotard), in one of the photographs displayed. Suzanne has two children with the photographer and is expecting a third which she cannot afford to keep. In order to help raise funds for an abortion, Pauline lies to her parents about a school trip, and when they find out, she leaves home and begins working as a singer. The photographer commits suicide and Suzanne moves away to live with her parents on their farm. The two women lose touch for ten years but are reunited at a demonstration in 1972 and begin to correspond by postcard. Pauline, now known as Pomme, moves to Iran with her boyfriend Darius (Ali Rafie), but becomes dissatisfied with her life there and returns to France. Suzanne leaves the farm and opens a family planning clinic in Hyères, where she marries a local doctor.