Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
Encyclopedia
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is a 1975 film by Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman
.
Upon its release, The New York Times
called Jeanne Dielman the "first masterpiece of the feminine in the history of the cinema." Chantal Akerman scholar Ivone Margulies asserts the picture is a filmic paradigm for uniting feminism
and anti-illusionism. The film was named the 19th-greatest film of the 20th Century by The Village Voice
.
Jeanne Dielman's static framing, long takes, and eschewal of reverse shots
force the viewer to objectively experience its protagonist
and the oppressive female labor that is her daily routine. Akerman's attention to images between the images requires the same attention of the film's viewers—an attention appropriate to its content. Though the filmmaker's static frame and extended-duration shots stem from structural cinema
, Akerman's application of these techniques to women's domestic work
is unique. The picture inverts normal filmic expectations by removing drama from emotional intensity and attaching it to long take
s that would only be implied and elided in more standard cinematic presentation. Jeanne Dielman's temporal dilation equalizes its exposition and drama to transform knowledge of an object—Jeanne's oppression—into a vision of it.
herself to a male client daily for her and her son's subsistence. Like her other activities, Jeanne's prostitution is part of the routine she performs every day by rote and is uneventful. But on the second day, Jeanne's routine begins to unravel subtly, as when she drops a newly washed spoon and overcooks the potatoes that she's preparing for dinner. These alterations to Jeanne's existence climax on the third day, when she unexpectedly has an orgasm with the day's client, after which she stabs him fatally with a pair of scissors.
Chantal Akerman
Chantal Anne Akerman is a Belgian film director, artist, and professor of film at the European Graduate School. Akerman's best-known film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles , exemplifies a dedication to the ellipses of conventional narrative cinema.-Early life:Akerman was born to...
.
Upon its release, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called Jeanne Dielman the "first masterpiece of the feminine in the history of the cinema." Chantal Akerman scholar Ivone Margulies asserts the picture is a filmic paradigm for uniting feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and anti-illusionism. The film was named the 19th-greatest film of the 20th Century by The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
.
Jeanne Dielman's static framing, long takes, and eschewal of reverse shots
Shot reverse shot
Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character , and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character...
force the viewer to objectively experience its protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and the oppressive female labor that is her daily routine. Akerman's attention to images between the images requires the same attention of the film's viewers—an attention appropriate to its content. Though the filmmaker's static frame and extended-duration shots stem from structural cinema
Structural film
Structural film was an experimental film movement prominent in the US in the 1960s and which developed into the Structural/materialist films in the UK in the 1970s.-Overview:The term was coined by P...
, Akerman's application of these techniques to women's domestic work
Housekeeping
Housekeeping is the act of cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a home. It is one of the many chores included in the term housework. Housecleaning includes activities such as disposing of rubbish, cleaning dirty surfaces, dusting and vacuuming. It may also involve some outdoor chores, such as...
is unique. The picture inverts normal filmic expectations by removing drama from emotional intensity and attaching it to long take
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...
s that would only be implied and elided in more standard cinematic presentation. Jeanne Dielman's temporal dilation equalizes its exposition and drama to transform knowledge of an object—Jeanne's oppression—into a vision of it.
Plot
Jeanne Dielman examines a single mother's regimented schedule of cooking, cleaning and mothering over three days. The mother, Jeanne Dielman (whose name is only derived from the title and from a letter she reads to her son), also prostitutesProstitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
herself to a male client daily for her and her son's subsistence. Like her other activities, Jeanne's prostitution is part of the routine she performs every day by rote and is uneventful. But on the second day, Jeanne's routine begins to unravel subtly, as when she drops a newly washed spoon and overcooks the potatoes that she's preparing for dinner. These alterations to Jeanne's existence climax on the third day, when she unexpectedly has an orgasm with the day's client, after which she stabs him fatally with a pair of scissors.
Cast
- Delphine SeyrigDelphine SeyrigDelphine Claire Beltiane Seyrig was a stage and film actress and a film director.-Early life:...
as Jeanne Dielman - Jan Decorte as Sylvain Dielman
- Henri StorckHenri StorckHenri Storck was a Belgian author, film-maker and documentarist.In 1933, he directed, with Joris Ivens, Misère au Borinage, a film about the miners in the Borinage area. In 1938, with Andre Thirifays and Pierre Vermeylen, he founded the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique...
as the first client - Jacques Doniol-ValcrozeJacques Doniol-ValcrozeJacques Doniol-Valcroze was a French actor, critic, screenwriter, and director...
as the second client - Yves Bical as the third client