Early work, late work, and the evolution in between—this is one of the fascinations of an artist’s career. Stanley Kubrick presents a worthy study: he began with Fear and Desire and ended with Eyes Wide Shut. Orson Welles debuted with Citizen Kane—possibly the most accomplished debut in film history—and went out with the troubled, posthumously completed The Other Side of the Wind. In “First & Last,” the Metrograph looks specifically at the works of Larisa Shepitko and Agnès Varda. The former director died tragically at 41; the latter released an experimental picture the year she before she died at 90. The discrepancy in time frame between Shepitko and Varda’s “first and last” works, as well as the overt differences between their approaches to filmmaking, makes for divergent yet rewarding viewing sessions. —Jack Sullivan

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