I do not wish to be dismissive or flippant about what many critics see as an important masterwork by Belgian filmmaker Chantel Akerman contributing to the feminist movement in her work but for me this was one of the most depressing, frustrating and boring experiences I've ever had watching a movie.
Thankfully it was in my own home and not in the cinema where I could condense 3 hours plus into 30 minutes or so, hitting the fast forward button which is something I rarely do if I'm watching a film, but in this case I refuse to play the director's game with the equivalent of watching paint dry for hours on end just so she could get her point across. If you've got something to say then say it, don't do it in the name of art or by playing the long game and torturing the audience in the process.
On the surface this comes across as pointless, soulless, joyless, self indulgent day-in-the-life-of piece of experimental filmmaking, with excruciatingly long takes, minimal dialogue and no music score. It's either taking advantage of the patience and stamina of the most ardent art house fan or it's so clever, subtle and intellectual it still arouses debate some 48 years after it was made.
The film is emotionally detached, uninspiring and mundane, which is probably the whole point of it all as we see the main character, played with appropriate understatement and mundanity by Delphine Seyrig, going through the motions over 3 days in her life. Is the filmmaker really exploring nuances and subtleties that would usually go unnoticed by the deliberate slow pacing and static camera work or have critics heaped too much praise on Akerman's unapologetic experiment over the years.
Either way for me I could only give it 4 stars for the filmmaker having the courage to make a film where nothing much happens for a majority of the time, apart from the occasional bit of business of the main character to pay the rent, which invites the audience to be voyeurs for 3 hours, to share the dullness, the regularity, the routine of daily life and to just exist in the moment.
Jeanne Dielman, 23, et al came in as the number one film of all time in Sight & Sound's 2022 critics poll as it's definitely one for the art house crowd but there is no desire here to entertain, thrill or win you over, this is not mainstream cinema. It remains defiantly true to itself and shuns the conventional narrative however once you get past the frustration and boredom of the piece you may begin to appreciate the filmmakers intention, unfortunately I didn't, it's just not my thing, no matter how objective I tried to be.
Thankfully it was in my own home and not in the cinema where I could condense 3 hours plus into 30 minutes or so, hitting the fast forward button which is something I rarely do if I'm watching a film, but in this case I refuse to play the director's game with the equivalent of watching paint dry for hours on end just so she could get her point across. If you've got something to say then say it, don't do it in the name of art or by playing the long game and torturing the audience in the process.
On the surface this comes across as pointless, soulless, joyless, self indulgent day-in-the-life-of piece of experimental filmmaking, with excruciatingly long takes, minimal dialogue and no music score. It's either taking advantage of the patience and stamina of the most ardent art house fan or it's so clever, subtle and intellectual it still arouses debate some 48 years after it was made.
The film is emotionally detached, uninspiring and mundane, which is probably the whole point of it all as we see the main character, played with appropriate understatement and mundanity by Delphine Seyrig, going through the motions over 3 days in her life. Is the filmmaker really exploring nuances and subtleties that would usually go unnoticed by the deliberate slow pacing and static camera work or have critics heaped too much praise on Akerman's unapologetic experiment over the years.
Either way for me I could only give it 4 stars for the filmmaker having the courage to make a film where nothing much happens for a majority of the time, apart from the occasional bit of business of the main character to pay the rent, which invites the audience to be voyeurs for 3 hours, to share the dullness, the regularity, the routine of daily life and to just exist in the moment.
Jeanne Dielman, 23, et al came in as the number one film of all time in Sight & Sound's 2022 critics poll as it's definitely one for the art house crowd but there is no desire here to entertain, thrill or win you over, this is not mainstream cinema. It remains defiantly true to itself and shuns the conventional narrative however once you get past the frustration and boredom of the piece you may begin to appreciate the filmmakers intention, unfortunately I didn't, it's just not my thing, no matter how objective I tried to be.