Tom F
I tried to get in the right mindset for this, relaxed but attentive. The 201 minutes of mostly random chores playing out in real time turned out to be highly compelling.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
11/30/24
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Dana K
Very different and interesting. This movie is definitely not for everyone, but as one YouTuber said "…it is quite the experience to (watch) these really long extended scenes of someone doing something very basic….very little dialogue…but think it's necessary to really get a sense of this woman's life and the mundane routine nature of it, and how that might have lead her to crack"…couldn't have said it better myself.
Patience is definitely required, but there was also something satisfying, and sad at the same time, in watching the details of this daily routine…it is honestly not very unlike the routine many of us go thru daily…
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/20/24
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Leprechaun K
Grossly overrated to say the least. It's not a bad movie and I would say most of the movie is somehow satisfying to watch although nothing really happens much at all. Worth a watch? Yes. Best move of all time? Absolutely not.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
12/14/24
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Lorenz L
I imagine a curious teenage cinephile, just beginning to take an interest in world cinema and confidently seeking out a film such as « Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles », bearing as it does the imprimatur of the Art House cinema's high and venerable authorities as well as insanely wide critical acclaim (need we look farther than Sight and Sound?). I imagine the bewilderment that would follow the viewing; imagine it developing into a scepticism, or even wrath, that would risk engulfing far better films, ones also hailed by the same notables. If this is the art of the movies, then I imagine hearing movie art is bullshit. In the Art House consensus, the danger facing contemporary cinema is its artistic diminution brought about by the market dominance of commercially-ravenous franchise films. The showcasing and enshrining of mediocre movies as masterworks poses an even greater a danger.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
01/09/24
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Ben W
Hello. Rotten tomatoes machine does not allow me to delete reviews... but consider this a deleted review. I opted for three stars , as a compromise- it's again not my review. Farewell.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
11/23/23
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Wayne K
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles might be one of the most cumbersome movie titles in film history, and from all the hype it's inexplicably received in recent years, I'd say its also one of the most overrated. To start with, I understand what the film is getting at. It's an examination of the routines we create, or perhaps fall into, that give our lives structure and familiarity, and how disturbing those routine can leave us feeling confused and adrift. Writer/director Chantal Akerman was known for her focus on domesticity and its inextricable link to the female experience. As such, I'd say more than a 3rd of the film takes place in the kitchen, one of the most essential rooms in the house and one in which women have for centuries been expected to toil away for the benefit of their families, no matter how unappreciated their work might be. So, I get the message, and I appreciate Akerman having the integrity to deliver it in her own way. The most obvious problem, one which you'll notice before seeing even a single frame of the film itself, is the runtime. The film does have an editor credited, so I'm left to wonder what exactly they spent their time doing. There's absolutely no reason for this movie to be as long as it is. If it had been an hour and a half in total, I still wouldn't have considered it a masterpiece, but I'd certainly have been far more taken with it. Scenes of our lead doing the most mundane and unremarkable things are left to go on for abusive amounts of time with no real payoff. Akerman has said that we assign car accidents and kisses in films more respect and attention than we do cooking or cleaning. That's because those things are actually interesting to watch. They're the kind of things a paying audience might be excited to see on the big screen. If you want to show a character washing dishes or peeling potatoes or having a coffee or going to the post office, that's fine, do that; but we don't need to see every single second of it from start to finish. The entire project needed to be edited down in a huge way, but instead it feels like we're watching every single frame that was shot. What's so frustrating about this is how many interesting little moments and nuances are scattered throughout the story. There's a moving light that reflects off a glass cupboard window in Jeanne's living room, leaving you to think ‘Where's the light coming from and why is it moving like that?' There's instances when we see Jeanne's routine being disturbed, such as when someone takes her usual seat at a café, or when a shop she usually visits is closed. There's interesting character moments, such as watching her interact with her son, feeling the distance between them and observing their tenuous but not unloving relationship. There's subtle but poignant commentary on our everyday lives, such as when the lead is seen listening to her neighbour prattle on about a subject she clearly isn't remotely interested in but keeps listening out of politeness. All of these moments could have propelled a narrative that was restrained but observant, paired back but pointed, but instead they simply get lost in a sea of lifeless longshots that might make film students fall off their chairs in delight but do nothing for a general audience. And that, I think, is the movie's biggest problem. It feels like it was made more for film journalists, historians and critics to talk about than it was for people to watch. It's an experiment that was never refined, leaking from the lab it was created in and hailed as a colossal, albeit accidental, achievement. I can understand people liking it, even loving it, but considering it the best film ever made is, for me at least, a gigantic step to far.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
10/08/23
Full Review
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