‘The Beaches of Agnes’

When she was not quite 80, Agnès Varda, one of the seminal filmmakers of the French New Wave, decided to take a look at her life, with the resulting film a lovely bit of memory and mischief. Now in contention for an Oscar, it’s back for a brief run this weekend at the Laemmle Sunset 5, the Pasadena Playhouse 7 and the Town Center, Encino. “Beaches” is an extraordinary documentary and best on the big screen, so consider this an unexpected holiday gift. You can feel Varda’s amusement in the way she’s stitched together remnants of her life, sand and the past kicking up around her as she walks backward -- literally, at times -- then forward again, contemplating, teasing. “Beaches” is packed with so many interlocking love stories, of people and places, of ideas and experimentation, that it’s difficult not to leave the theater giddy at being swept up in her embrace.

-- Betsy Sharkey