Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

• Year: 1975
• Released: 21 Jan 1976
• Country: Belgium, France
• Adwords: 2 wins
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073198/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jeanne_dielman_23_quai_du_commerce_1080_bruxelles
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: French
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Drama
• Runtime: 202 min
• Writer: Chantal Akerman
• Director: Chantal Akerman
• Cast: Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte, Henri Storck
• Keywords: woman director, widow, prostitution, single mother, mother son relationship,

	7.7/10
	97% – Critics
	82% – Audience

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Storyline

Widowed now for six years, Jeanne Dielman lives in a one-bedroom inner city Brussels flat with her teen-aged son Sylvain Dielman. She never really loved her husband and has no intention of ever remarrying, seeing it more of a chore of getting used to someone than ever missing emotional love. Most of the time, she tends to her household duties with a certain meticulousness and fastidiousness, but also with a definite routine. This attitude extends to the way she treats Sylvain, which is more as caregiver than loving mother. Included within her daily routine is looking after her neighbor’s infant son while the mother runs her errands for the day and turning tricks with a small stable of regular clients in the apartment while Sylvain is at school. A few small changes to her routine over a thirty-six hour period culminates with something she’s never experienced with one of her clients, which threatens what she knows her life to be. She has to decide how that incident will affect her psyche.

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Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Movie Reviews

The horror and emptiness of life

This is a very special film for me. I see myself depicted in the character of Jeanne Dielman: someone that has to repeat the same tasks everyday, with no conection to the real world, with no connection to anyone, not even her family. When I saw this movie, it was a real strike for me, it made me feel so many emotions, to sadness to anger, it made me rethink my life. Even as the young 16 years old guy that I am, i’m not really a happy person. And I see this feeling in the main character, perfectly represented, that i’m sure that i’m not the only one that sees this in this movie. Letting the emotions aside, this is one of the most beautifully made films I haved the fortune to see, the minimalistic approach is totally understandable for what the film tries to comunicate (at least in my eyes): the emptiness and boredom of the common person life. I know this is considered a feminist classic, but I think anyone, even back in the day, can relate to Jeanne. When I see her in the screen, I really don’t see an actress playing a role, I see a real woman, and that, has to be some of the best acting of all time. Some people may say this movie is boring or stupid, I would say is because of two things: they see themselves onscreen and the feel terrified because of that, or the just don’t get the point. The almost four hours runtime and the repetitiveness of the story is totally justified, the movie needs to be that long, for you to connect with her character, for you to feel what she feels. Months have passed since I watched it for the first time, and everyday I think about it. The experience of watching it was inspiring, it made me want to develop my ideas. I had started writing my first script, and that is thanks for this movie. This is truly a mustwatch for everyone, it may change your life, at least it changed mine.

Tedium

What an interesting film. It shows the utter emptiness of thhe day to day existence of an attractive middle aged widow. She must sell herself to survive and work endlessly to provide for an indifferent teenager. At first it is incredibly boring, but then each day repeats itself and we realize how hard she works. While not for everyone, this becomes totally captivating.

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels

I knew that this was one of the longest films in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, at over 3 hours long, I read more about this French film, I thought it was going to be either really boring or really intriguing, I hoped critics giving it five stars out of five would be deserved. Basically Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig) lives in 23 Commerce Quay, a one-bedroom inner city Brussels flat, she has been widowed for six years, she never really loved her husband and has no intention of remarrying, she wants to concentrate on caring for her teenage son Sylvain (Jan Decorte) and her apartment. The film takes place over three days, with Jeanne spending most of her time doing the household chores, bring particular and meticulous, including preparing and cooking dinner for herself and her son washing up, cleaning surfaces and having a bath. Jeanne occasionally gets out the house to do shopping and to pick something up or drop something off, she also often looks after her neighbour’s infant son while the mother runs her errands for the day. But also in her daily routine, which Jeanna sees merely as just another chore, is working as a prostitute, allowing gentlemen clients to come to the apartment, to provide them with whatever sexual pleasure they seek, and when they leave she sticks the money in a savings dish. A few small changes to Jeanne’s routine over a thirty-six hour period culminates with an experience she has never had with a client, which affects her psyche, when the man is rested she grabs a pair of scissors, stabbing him to death, following the murder she sits for a long amount of time still and silent. Also starring Henri Storck as the 1st Caller, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze as the 2nd Caller and Yves Bical as the 3rd Caller. Seyrig gives a studied performance as the ordinary woman with an ordinary life, the film is made up of a series of long takes, mostly of the dispassionate normalness of the title character, whether its peeling potatoes or eating without talking, there is nothing exciting, and not much dialogue. The violent climax is worth the wait, I think actually it is the lack of action that makes it much more interesting, the rhythmic repetition of everyday occurrences, an insight into the life of a working mother, and an audacious exploration of bourgeois feminism, a long but most worthwhile art-house drama. Very good!