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This week I caught up with Anges Varda’s The Beaches of Agnes](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-beaches-of-agnes-les-plages-dagnes/36852/main) (2 screens), which – if nothing else – is a strong contender for the year’s best documentary. Of course, it helps if you know who Agnes Varda is, or at least have a passing interest in her work. She was associated with the French New Wave, and made her movie directing debut, La pointe-courte](La Pointe Courte (1955) - IMDb) (1954), years before Francois Truffaut or Jean-Luc Godard. However, she was not a member of the guy’s movie club and was not a critic; in fact, she claims that she had seen less than a dozen movies when she first picked up her camera. She came from a background of photography and mingled with a group of other artists. Over her long, impressive career, she has made many films, including such notables as Cleo from 5 to 7](Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) - IMDb) (1962), Vagabond](Vagabond (1985) - IMDb) (1985) and The Gleaners and I](The Gleaners & I (2000) - IMDb) (2000). In recent years, she has become the keeper of her husband Jacques Demy’s legacy, overseeing restorations of some of Demy’s films (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg](The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) - IMDb), etc.) and making various films about him.