Jeanne Dielman
This review contains mild spoilers and a bunch of nonsense.
Who doesn’t love a prostitute?
Pierogies!
Apparently there is a water shortage, or maybe she’s just an eco-babe.
I totally would have turned that china cozy horizontal.
Mmm…gas stove.
And I thought I was a light nazi, nary an extraneous lighted room.
Oh wait, I don’t think those are pierogies, I think they are just potatoes. This movie sucks.
For Elise makes for compelling film.
Listening to music, knitting AND reading a magazine? Woah, slow down lady.
Are you sure these are the actors or did we accidentally include a scene of the crew changing the set for the next scene?
I can’t tell whether it took a lot of time and work to get that hairdo or whether that is just what happens when you admit defeat but aren’t old enough to pull off a bob.
Marrying an ugly, poor man…it really is a miracle (or a woman’s burden).
You know, a cuppa wouldn’t be a terrible idea right now *pauses film*
It took me at least 50 minutes to ask “why am I doing this to myself.” And then on tea break I ended up watching most of In Bruges since my dad was.
Apparently she’s making coffee, not tea. This movie sucks.
I’m not a back guy really, but if I were, this five-minute sequence of her washing dishes would really do it for me.
If I did a shot every time someone talked in this film, I wouldn’t get drunk.
Ooh, she’s making a mess of this kitchen making breaded…well, whatever animal that is. I bet I’m gonna get to watch her clean it up…anticipation! I might even get to see her cook the aforementioned breaded animal (veal we find out, quelle horreur).
Oh hey, Ajax cleaner…like the football club.
Oops, she burned the potatoes, clearly this failure as a woman demands that she commit hari kari. Also, I’m hungry, I need a snack *pauses film*
Halfway there, no need to worry.
Conveniently she discovers that they own a radio again.
The great button hunt...I resew buttons using floss so I think we know where I come down on this use of effort.
Ok, past the two hour mark and then the three hour mark my attention is really starting to flag such that the snark has failed me…well, except…
I think we know what happened to Mr. Dielman.
Speaking of the ending, I was reading an essay on the film that posed a few questions the audience might ask of the ending starting with "what did he do to deserve it?" I found this to be sexist, assuming the man is probably at fault. For my interpretation, I went with the assertion "bitch be crazy."
As for a real review, it would be easy for me to just say this film is too damn long, but in a world where I’ve accepted Wiseman as a great documentarian, that isn’t really sufficient complaint. Saying a film is too damn long implies that if it was shorter it would have been more effective. I think this film arguably needs to be how it is for what it is going for, but I don’t find what it is going for very compelling. It is admittedly a 35-year-old film so certain aspects of its look at gender aren’t going to play as well today. Housework is still more likely to be done more by women than men but technology has likely made it even less austere or arduous. This is what podcasts are for these days, being able to pair something rather interesting with those rather tedious aspects of life. If it is to be said that this film tries to make a point (and really I hope every film does), the problem is that it is so vaguely phrased or just fails to connect and makes the film ultimately underwhelming.
