“If you opened people up, you’d find landscapes. If you opened me up, you’d find beaches.” And with that, famed New Wave director Agnès Varda (La Pointe Courte, Cléo de 5 à 7) begins to unravel the story of her life, starting off by the North Sea in Belgium and continuing into France, China, Cuba, the U.S. and back again. At almost 80 years of age, Varda decided to take stock of her life—and, true to form, had no intention of following the rules. No ordinary documentary, this dreamy gem features whimsical art installations, recreations of scenes from her wartime youth, excerpts from her films (and those of her long-time husband, the late Jacques Demy), interviews with their children, a talking cartoon cat, and Varda in a potato suit. Partway through her reminiscences, Varda muses that every man who looks at the sea is a Ulysses who doesn’t always want to come home. Lucky for us, the same can’t be said of her—and that this particular homecoming rendered such a bittersweet and clever love note.—Stéphanie Verge