Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi, Agnès Varda, 1985)

Sandrine Bonnaire won the César Award for Best Actress (the French equivalent of the Oscars) for her searing portrayal of the defiant drifter Mona, found frozen to death in a ditch at the beginning of Vagabond. Varda pieces together Mona’s story through flashbacks told by those who encountered her (played by a largely nonprofessional cast), producing a splintered portrait of an enigmatic woman. One of the must-see films of the 1980s. In French with English subtitles. (105 mins., 35mm)