Woman on the move
...through this contrast of movement versus immobilism, Varda subverts the traditional codes of classical narrative cinema which depict man as the gender on the move and women as static" (Hayward 288).
To me, this quote really describes the major difference between the movies "Easy Rider", and "Girl on a Motorcycle" versus "Vagabond", because until Mona, the women in these films were still. The women in "Easy Rider" were stationary, and we only saw them in the home. In "Girl on a Motorcycle", she was given the illusion of moving, but was ultimately trapped between her two men. In "Vagabond", however, Mona is constantly moving. She is not controlled by the road like "Girl on a Motorcycle", but rather, she controls it. She decides whether or not she will bathe, or work, and lets no one decide for her. The various camera angles make it obvious that Mona is always on the move, and even the cameras can't control where she will go. Because of the odd camera angles, and Mona's constant motion, the male gaze is also interrupted. "Vagabond" is the first movie we have seen where a woman has broken free, and can move around as she pleases.