Three consecutive days are covered in the life of the title character (played by Delphine Seyrig), a middle-aged widow who cares for her teenaged son in the morning and evening, and does various errands in the afternoon. One of those errands seems very surprising for someone whose routine is rather rigid.
There are various reasons to think this movie might not work. It's over three hours; the camera is almost always on one character; she is mostly alone and even with others, there is rare conversation. With the exception of a shocking ending, most of the time is spent on the ordinary routines of life. Despite these challenges that would fail with other film-makers, this movie succeeds in a fascinating way mainly due to Seyrig and writer-director Chantal Akerman. By the end, one realizes the movie HAD to be so long to make its point.
The ending is so surprising that an initial reaction might be to reject its apparent absurdity. Yet, one cannot help but backtrack to find clues that may have lead to it.
Might it be that Jeanne was starting to find an unexpected pleasure in one of her errands and that threw her off her usual sense of being very organized?
This film succeeds in causing viewers to think well after the movie, a true sign of greatness. For those of us who are "loners" like Jeanne, we are forced to examine our lives. Living in this earthly plane, we are almost forced to have a routine to survive; but when does the routine become a problem?
"Jeanne Dielman" might also be considered ahead of its time in exposing mental illness, signs that are apparent as we often see the despair on Jeanne's face as she stares into space.
At the and of the film, I said to a long-time cinephile friend sitting to next to me, "Now that was definitely an ART film." Usually, I'm condescending whenever I say that. In this case, I meant it as a compliment. - dbamateurcritic
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Directing by Chantal Akerman.
There are various reasons to think this movie might not work. It's over three hours; the camera is almost always on one character; she is mostly alone and even with others, there is rare conversation. With the exception of a shocking ending, most of the time is spent on the ordinary routines of life. Despite these challenges that would fail with other film-makers, this movie succeeds in a fascinating way mainly due to Seyrig and writer-director Chantal Akerman. By the end, one realizes the movie HAD to be so long to make its point.
The ending is so surprising that an initial reaction might be to reject its apparent absurdity. Yet, one cannot help but backtrack to find clues that may have lead to it.
Might it be that Jeanne was starting to find an unexpected pleasure in one of her errands and that threw her off her usual sense of being very organized?
This film succeeds in causing viewers to think well after the movie, a true sign of greatness. For those of us who are "loners" like Jeanne, we are forced to examine our lives. Living in this earthly plane, we are almost forced to have a routine to survive; but when does the routine become a problem?
"Jeanne Dielman" might also be considered ahead of its time in exposing mental illness, signs that are apparent as we often see the despair on Jeanne's face as she stares into space.
At the and of the film, I said to a long-time cinephile friend sitting to next to me, "Now that was definitely an ART film." Usually, I'm condescending whenever I say that. In this case, I meant it as a compliment. - dbamateurcritic
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Directing by Chantal Akerman.