Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is a 1975 film by Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. 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 prostitutes herself to a male client daily for her and her son's subsistence. Like her other activities Jeanne's p... more

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is a 1975 film by Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. 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 prostitutes herself to a male client daily for her and her son's subsistence. Like her other activities Jeanne's prostitution is rote and uneventful. The picture's third day witnesses Jeanne's routine benignly unravel with events like dropping a newly washed spoon and appearing at businesses before opening. These alterations to Jeanne's existence climax when she unexpectedly orgasms with her day's client. Following this coitus Jeanne stabs the male customer in the neck with scissors. 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... less