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In Akerman's first attempt at a full-length fiction movie, she plays Julie, who just got over a really bad breakup and will do anything to get out of all the confusion involved. And... that's basically it. No need for a full paragraph into the plot as it's an 80-minute slow cinema film. Ans lemme tell you, the first act does a good job of handling the idea of post-breakup breakdowns with all the uncertainty and little signs of mental chaos that could've lead up to something big. The idea of a deep and psychological drama like that is absolutely perfect for slow cinema.
But then we get to the second and third acts, who's stories are built exclusively upon the kind of behavior that most lonely people go through after a breakup and WITHOUT the breakdown. Doesn't the idea of a "breakup breakdown" have a good ring to it? Well this didn't make the cut at all. In fact, to pair with this, it doesn't even have the desperation within the actual sets, as they are also too normalized to really create a mood. At least Jeanne Dielman's home was nicely decorated...
What could've been a deeper and someone more commentative look at a breakdown turned into a slog of normality and nothing to say. In other words, even in slow cinema, Chantal Akerman managed to defeat the purpose of an 80 minute film's first act by underwriting the second and third acts. This is really further confirmation in my mind that Akerman is not the true queen of directors, but potentially fellow Frenchwoman Varda. I really, really need more depth in her slow cinema.
= 45
Chantal Akerman's Directorial Score (2 Good vs. 2 Bad)
Jeanne Dielman: 68
News from Home: 58
Je, Tu, Il, Elle: 45
Hotel Monterey: 37
Score: 52 / 4
Akerman's position on my Best Director's List lowers from #297 to #306 between J.S. Cardone and Joseph Kane. However, the below review will feature my fifth Chantal Akerman film.
Je, Tu, Il, Elle
(1974) - Directed by Chantal Akerman
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Drama / Slow Cinema
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Drama / Slow Cinema
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"I lay down on my mattress, then got up to undress. I lay down again, naked."
This is my fourth Chantal Akerman film, and this review's actually a re-writing of a review I thought I posted yesterday, but apparently didn't. I have no idea why, but I was apparently in the mood for an Akerman film, even though I'm easily more of a Varda guy and find Akerman quite overrated, but not necessarily bad. I guess it was simply that I thought of a director I needed to educate myself more in and decided to role with it.In Akerman's first attempt at a full-length fiction movie, she plays Julie, who just got over a really bad breakup and will do anything to get out of all the confusion involved. And... that's basically it. No need for a full paragraph into the plot as it's an 80-minute slow cinema film. Ans lemme tell you, the first act does a good job of handling the idea of post-breakup breakdowns with all the uncertainty and little signs of mental chaos that could've lead up to something big. The idea of a deep and psychological drama like that is absolutely perfect for slow cinema.
But then we get to the second and third acts, who's stories are built exclusively upon the kind of behavior that most lonely people go through after a breakup and WITHOUT the breakdown. Doesn't the idea of a "breakup breakdown" have a good ring to it? Well this didn't make the cut at all. In fact, to pair with this, it doesn't even have the desperation within the actual sets, as they are also too normalized to really create a mood. At least Jeanne Dielman's home was nicely decorated...
What could've been a deeper and someone more commentative look at a breakdown turned into a slog of normality and nothing to say. In other words, even in slow cinema, Chantal Akerman managed to defeat the purpose of an 80 minute film's first act by underwriting the second and third acts. This is really further confirmation in my mind that Akerman is not the true queen of directors, but potentially fellow Frenchwoman Varda. I really, really need more depth in her slow cinema.
= 45
Chantal Akerman's Directorial Score (2 Good vs. 2 Bad)
Jeanne Dielman: 68
News from Home: 58
Je, Tu, Il, Elle: 45
Hotel Monterey: 37
Score: 52 / 4
Akerman's position on my Best Director's List lowers from #297 to #306 between J.S. Cardone and Joseph Kane. However, the below review will feature my fifth Chantal Akerman film.