Sad love is so long
Created by: Miriam Mahler
Translator: Alessia Jensen
Publisher: Sweepstakes and Quarterly Magazine
Publication date: April 2024
“I guess I’m not scared anymore.
I think I’m very happy.
–“Cléo from 5 to 7” (1962)
Inscriptions often influence people’s understanding of the work. For example, a few years ago I read Stephen and Irving King’s book sleeping Beautya rather “not for me” book, to write an article about comic adaptation Works by Rio Youers and Alison Sampson (which I love, but not much).
One of the changes in the graphic adaptation was the decision to remove the inscription which I thought was quite worthy of complaint. When reading the original novel, this quickly turned me off to the book because of the absolutely groan-worthy degree that this line inspired. When reading comic book adaptations, I prefer to follow the narrative and characters.
I bring this up because Sad love is so long Begin with the above quote Cleo from 5 to 7. Agnès Varda film follows the life of a young woman during this time in contact with the world. It’s a rather fascinating picture of life and dealing with death. (I should point out that this is based more on memory than on recent viewing of the film. Therefore, some details may have been lost.)
Sad love is so longdoes not engage in these topics. Instead, the quote (and subsequent name of the protagonist) is used to explore the female experience of loneliness. More specifically, the isolation that comes from being in an extremely toxic relationship with a real piece of shit. We follow Cleo as she slowly begins to piece together a host of red flags for her boyfriend, including the appearance of a woman named Farah who, according to her boyfriend and all his friends, is “a crazy bitch.” .
Miriam Malle’s cartoons do an excellent job of highlighting the intricacies of this doomed relationship. Several scenes highlight Cleo’s pain and uncertainty about the man she loves. Overall it was a good experience.
However, I hesitate to call it great. One of my favorite things I remember Cleo from 5 to 7 It’s the film’s use of silence. We just breathe with Cléo as she goes about her day. During this period, we don’t focus so much on the plot but on exploring a space. In contrast, Sad love is so long Seems extremely relevant to its plot. We never see a moment where Cleo and Farrah talk to each other outside of their relationship with their boyfriends. We don’t have Cleo and her best friend Seaham hanging out with each other outside of montages talking about the cruel behavior of toxic exes.
The emphasis may be on serving as a contrast between the two parts of the book. The first half is about a toxic relationship, and the second half explores life after the wreckage. Cléo grows and changes as a result of her experiences. And, no matter what, she does seem to be happier with someone who is her friend rather than her boyfriend.
But I don’t think there’s much difference in how the two stories are told. There are definitely warmer colors in the second half of the comic (especially at the end, which is really beautiful), but there’s still very little silence. The only thing people seem to be able to do here is talk to each other. The frequency of words in the first half works well because it allows the reader to be as overwhelmed by the world as Cleo is. But keeping the same wall of text in the second half dilutes the meaning of the first half.
I recall Cleo from 5 to 7use silence and non-verbal discussion skillfully. Not everything needs to be explained through monologue or dialogue. How can we learn about these people just by looking at images.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a pretty good comic with some cute ones. I love it. But I don’t like it.
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