Sans toit ni loi

Somewhere in the south of France, the lifeless body of a young woman is found in a ditch. The police dismiss it as a simple case of death by hypothermia, but those in the area know who she is: Mona, a woman who had consciously chosen to live on the margins of society. She had once been a secretary in Paris, but grew tired of that life and decided to travel around, with only a tent. Sometimes she would take on a small job and then continue hitchhiking. She managed to endure hunger, thirst and the cold, meeting not only other vagrants, but also people who envied her freedom and independence. She wanted to live without a roof over her head or any rules. Things were going well until she fell into a ditch.

In this drama, Agnès Varda tells the story of Mona, played by Sandrine Bonnaire, using flashbacks in an almost documentary style. It earned her much acclaim; the film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, among other awards.