Great Film:

Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi = Without Roof nor Rule), 1985, directed by Agnès Varda.

The Film:
IMDB.
Rotten Tomatoes.
Roger Ebert.
Two by Varda: Cleo from 5 to 7 and Vagabond DVD Review by Craig J. Fischer.
MovieMartyr.com.
Strictly Film School.
Online Film Critics Society.
Women in Film: The Search of True Liberation for Women.
Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film, essay.
Amazon.com information on the DVD with reviews.
Cinema-Scene.com.

Agnès Varda:
IMDB.
Senses of Cinema essay by Helen Carter.
Les sites filmographiques.
Agnes Varda's Cinematic Geographies.
Sundance Channel.
the-artist.org.
L'Entrepôt Imaginaire, University of Melbourne .

Books:
[1] Agnes Varda by Alison Smith, Manchester University Press, 1998. (series: French Film Directors)
Book review.
Book review.
[2] To Desire Differently: Feminism and the French Cinema, Second edition, by Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, Columbia University Press, 1996. (The book at the publisher's web site.)
Book review.


(I think Vagabond and Cleo from 5 to 7 both excellent films. Why have I chosen to highlight one film here over the other? Both are profound character studies. Vagabond deals with a woman who has actually left human society; Cleo from 5 to 7 deals with a woman in the processes of becoming self-aware (perhaps): we watch her transition as she becomes alienated from her old role and the hopeful realization dawns upon her that she has the choice of a more authentic role for herself - but only the possibility of death jolts her into this awareness. Mona in Vagabond is in a far more extreme situation than Cleo; the issues at stake and the contrasts we see in Vagabond seem more stark, serious, and powerful.)


Some Links for Cléo de 5 à 7 (1961):
IMDB.
Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film; essay.
Amazon.com information on the DVD with reviews.
Rotten Tomatoes.
Not Coming to a Theater Near You review.
Corinne Marchand at IMDB.