53NYFF October 9
Special Screening of Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, in
honor of Chantal Akerman, whose latest and final film No Home Movie is in the
Main Slate..
Disclosure: Seeing
Jeanne Dielman now, in 2015, is nothing remotely like the experience of
seeing it in 1975 at the Bleecker St Cinema, though the color palette of the
film was instantly recognizable, as was the 50s-style decor. The 50s ambiance
is reinforced by continual turning off of light switches when leaving a room,
very much a post WWII habit.
Nor does the
experience of story remotely correspond to the way the film has been referred
to this past week in the media, as though it boils down to Jeanne Dielman
(Delphine Seyrig) having paid sex while the potatoes are boiling on the stove.
No, the
experience of watching the film is cinematically far richer & more
complex--and more humorous--than the boiled potatoes reference would imply. And
although Akerman eschews so-called traditional coverage and shoots in master
shots, the film is by no means all shot in real time. The selection of scenes
that are, of course, gives them an added kind of soothing emphasis.
Here are a few
observations: With regard to the mise-en-scene and brilliantly crisp and
precise cinematography by Babette Mangolte, with whom Akerman had mad several
short films during her 1971-1972 stay in New York, the variety of camera
positions used within what seemed like very small spaces, especially the
kitchen, is truly amazing. No conceivable camera position seems to have been
left unexplored.
The address in
the film’s title, Quai du Commerce, is well-chosen, since in the afternoons Dielman
is herself engaged in a commercial activity. But in the mornings she also she
spends quite a bit of time on the street, not soliciting (we're not told how
she secures her clients in a pre-digital age) but in normal shopping for
groceries/ After her thankless teenage son points out there's a button missing
on his winter coat, she hunts for a replacement. In those days there was
clearly an ample choice, at least in Bruxelles, of notions stores. This is also
a thankless task because the coat was sent from Canada by a relative, and the
buttons prove impossible to match.
Ps Kudos to NYFF
for the free, and well-attended, screening yesterday, especially in the Elinor
Bunin Monroe Theater, which has seats far more suited for warching a 3 !/3 hour
movie than Walter Reade across the street
 |
Click here to Reply or Forward
|
