Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Chantal Akerman

Writer:

Chantal Akerman (writer)

Release Date:

21 January 1976 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores, takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet.

Plot Keywords:

Son | Widow | Potatoes | Kitchen | Female Director

Cast

Delphine Seyrig	...	Jeanne Dielman
Jan Decorte	...	Sylvain Dielman
Henri Storck	...	1st Caller
Jacques Doniol-Valcroze	...	2nd Caller
Yves Bical	...	3rd Caller

Also Known As:

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Rue du Commerce (France)

Runtime:

201 min | Argentina:201 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

Belgium | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:U | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Company:

Ministère de la Culture Française de Belgique

Trivia:

French visa # 45424

Goofs:

Continuity: Kitchen chair disappears, reappears, disappears, reappears…

Movie Connections:

References The Stepford Wives (1975)

Soundtrack:

Bagatelle for Piano

Minimalist masterpiece

It sounds a very forbidding film:over three hours of watching a woman do the repetitive household chores which are the norm for housewives in every part of the world.Of course in no Hollywood film would we ever see the lead character run a bath,peel potatoes or lay a table in real time:these are all actions which a commercial director would ruthlessly elide in favour of a powerful narrative,and yet this is never a boring film.Once the viewer becomes accustomed to the different pace and rhythm,there is something hypnotic and fascinating about the daily routines which Jeanne Dielman performs every day.

Narrative,however,has not been entirely banished from this film.There is something strange and unspoken in Jeanne's relationship with her son who comes home every day from college,eats the evening meal,studies, and then pulls out his bed from the wall.Jeanne's life too is shrouded in mystery.Her afternoon encounters with a series of mostly elderly male clients is presented in a straightforward manner totally at odds with the sexual titillation provided by,for example,"Belle de jour" where the camera followed closely Sévérine's sexual encounters.In this film the camera waits discreetly at the bedroom's door until the client takes his leave.

While it is a "feminist" film,a film which was directed by a woman,starring a woman and which had all female crew,it nevertheless has a meaning for men as well.And if you find this film boring,as some viewers do,then you must also find life boring.