The best film in the history of cinema or 3h18 of deep boredom? This divisive work is worth a look!

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du commerce, 1080 Brussels is a work unlike any other, surrounded by a unique aura. This is a film that was very little seen when it was released (31,000 admissions in 1976) and became very difficult to see legally for many years (due to rights issues), making it very rare as a hidden treasure. … But at the same time, this film by the Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman, who died in 2015, is praised, celebrated from all sides by some of the greatest filmmakers (Todd Haynes, Kelly Reichardt, the Dardenne brothers. …). Zhanna Dielman was recently chosen as the best film in the history of cinema! Respected but not found!

A film praised among the greatest filmmakers, but which… has become invisible!

From Wednesday, Jeanne Diehlmann is back in the cinema, everywhere in France. An event for film lovers, such as Jean Eustace’s re-release of La Maman et la putain last year, which eventually attracted more than 30,000 curious people, despite its duration of 3h29. The opportunity to finally see films that qualify as masterpieces on the big screen.

Thus, these two films have in common a rarity, a singular aura and an XXL duration… here it is, 3h18. The length of Zhanna Diehlman’s (very) feature film is literally an essential element of the film. Seeing the passage of time in this way makes it an unforgettable film. More than a film, Jeanne Dielman is an experience that must be felt throughout its duration.

Jean Dillman portrays the daily life of a mother who occasionally engages in prostitution. The film takes the time to show all these everyday facts and gestures. Chantal Akerman portrays banality? Critics will say yes, finding the film endlessly boring, even boring. But thinking about that, completely skip the directorial work of Chantal Akerman…”There is a tension that builds because underground we feel that something is going to happen. It’s like an old tragedy, with nothing, almost nothing…“Chantal Akerman described this work of tension as follows.

It’s like an old tragedy, with nothing, almost nothing…

A far cry from today’s special-effects-heavy, frame-multiplying cinema, the special effect here is seeing Delphine Seyrig, in one of the biggest roles of her career, doing everyday tasks. “We needed someone who we’re not used to seeing doing the dishes, so with Dolphin it was perfect because everything became visible“, summarizes Chantal Akerman. This idea works perfectly and creates a certain gap.

Chantal Akerman said a little more, in a 1976 interview, about her will behind the staging ideas: “For me, it was not a naturalistic filmmaking, where there is no superfluous gesture, a parasite, the character becomes an exact reflection of a thousand other Dielmans without really being any of them. And the whole production goes in the same direction, so the fixed shots, the stylized division of space, the camera in front of the characters (whether the character is from the front or the back.) Relentlessly define each one. Gestures to, as in hyperrealist painting, give exemplary value to what is shown, to go beyond the anecdote, the subject, and discover a deeper truth, if I may say so.“

and add:I don’t think men approach this topic by showing the daily life of a housewife; He wouldn’t stick with the same images, images that are not appreciated cinematically or socially, images that most often form part of ellipses, or are used incidentally to enhance or advance the narrative. There they are not only in the film, but they are the film“.

Find all the movie releases of the week

It should be noted that this release by Jeanne Diehlman is the first stage of a larger project around Chantal Akerman. In 2024, Capricci editions will release a retrospective in theaters, a DVD/Blu-ray box set, then an exhibition at a Paris museum. Also note the recent release of a book, still in Capricci, dedicated to Delphine Seyrig, DELPHINE SEYRIG, IN CONSTRUCTIONS by Jean-Marc Lalanne.