JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES
dir. CHANTAL ACKERMAN, 1975
a film that follows three typical days in the life of a woman in brussels. we see her clean, cook, eat, run errands, and, once daily, entertain a gentlemen caller while the potatoes are boiling. she has a teenage son with whom she is not close. there is very little talk. chantal ackerman made this film when she was 25, which is totally remarkable. it also makes absolute sense, now that i've seen it.
lots of walk-outs in the theatre, which always heartens me for some reason. it is beautiful to look at and rigorous and radical and steadfast for 190 of its 200 minute running time. the other ten minutes are a total sell-out.
it is the first time i have ever seen private, distracted behavior captured so well onscreen, or at all. forgetting to turn the light off, say, and then remembering again. these scenes are uncommonly beautiful.
