Six years after Agnes Varda added her name to the Manifesto of the 343 — a declaration by 343 women publicly proclaiming that they had had an abortion, despite the procedure still being illegal in France — she made this remarkable combination of social commentary and musical about a woman's right to choose. One Sings, the Other Doesn't is a decade-spanning chronicle of the friendship between two women, Suzanne (Thérèse Liotard) and Pauline (Valérie Mairesse), who first meet in 1962 when the teenage Suzanne, who is already a mother of two, decides to get an abortion. The film then jumps ten years ahead, finding the pair at very different stages in their lives — Suzanne is pursuing a career in family planning, while Pauline is an activist and a member of an all-female political protest band — but still deeply connected by their friendship. Dedicated to Varda's daughter Rosalie (who makes an appearance in the film), One Sings, the Other Doesn't is the rare film to treat the subject of abortion absent histrionics or hand-wringing, and in the process offers an alternate, utopic vision of what family can look like. (In French w/English subtitles) Released: 1977 Run time: 121 min. View ONE SINGS, THE OTHER DOESN’T Trailer
