Chantal Akerman: Vol 1

If endlessly static shots of individuals gazing into the camera while devouring a baguette, or looking at the Parisienne landscape from a balcony is your thing, then you should feel right at home with this Limited Edition 5-disc Blu-ray set containing shorts and films by Belgian Avantgarde-film director Chantal Akerman. Vol 1 introduces her work from 1967-1978, including the three-hour epic ‘Jeanne Dielman’, which was voted “the greatest film of all time’ in a 2022 poll conducted by Sight & Sound magazine. Whether it really is the greatest film of all time remains debatable, seeing how Orson Welles’ far superior 1941 drama ‘Citizen Kane’ is frequently cited as “the greatest film ever made”. Take your pick…

Chantal Akerman was born in Brussels, Belgium, to parents who were Jewish Holocaust survivors and she always felt particularly close to her mother. Aged 18, Akerman enrolled in a film school in her native Belgium, only to drop out during her first term to make the self-financed short film ‘Saute ma Ville’. Clearly influenced by the French New Wave film movement, she moved to New York in 1971 and during that time, her trademark long takes were already evident. In 1973 she returned to Belgium and one year later, received critical acclaim for her first feature ‘Je, Tu, Il, Elle’ (I, You, He, She’). Apart from her occupation as a film director, screen writer and artist, she was also a professor of film at the City College of New York. Akerman died in 2015 (aged 65) by suicide. Prior to this, she had been hospitalised for severe depression following her beloved mother’s death.

DISC 1 introduces us to four short films from 1967, which were made as entry pieces for the INSAS drama school in Brussels. While the first two depict everyday scenes of the city and its people, the third and fourth short, (‘Knokke 1’ and ‘Knokke 2’) feature Akerman’s childhood friend Marilyn Watelet and Marilyn’s sister and mother, with interesting glimpses of Knokke - a seaside resort. This is followed by the 13 min short ‘Saute ma ville’ (‘Blow up my Town’), depicting a young woman performing domestic chores in her flat in an apartment block. It has no dialogue as such and the theme of women in a kitchen or similar domestic settings has been explored by Akerman time and time again, questioning domesticity vs. femininity. Other shorts are ‘Le enfant aimé ou Je joue á être une femme mariée’ (‘The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman’) and ‘Le Chambre’ (‘The Room 1 and 2). We are treated to two documentaries, the latter one unfinished unfortunately. ‘Hotel Monterey’ (1972) once again has no dialogue and consists of a series of her favoured long camera takes, in this case, filmed in New York’s Monterey hotel. The result is akin to the viewer sitting in the hotel lobby and watching guests come and leave and move about in different parts of the building. ‘Hanging Out Yonkers’ (1973) is a somewhat pointless addition to this Vol 1 set, given that this documentary, which follows a rehabilitation programme of juvenile delinquents (the movie was requested by a welfare organisation), has no dialogue whatsoever and thus the viewer doesn’t have the slightest idea as to what the youngsters are actually saying, which is a shame.

DISC 2 begins with the short ‘Les 15/8’ from 1973, during which a young Finnish woman residing in Paris talks about her life (in English). ‘Je, Tu, Il, Elle’ (1974) is not only Akerman’s first feature film but she also stars in it as a young woman named Julie who, for the first third of the film, does different things in her room before she leaves her place and hitches a ride with a young male lorry driver (Niels Arestrup) who, during the course of the journey, tells Julie about the difficulties in his marriage. They also take breaks in a bistro and a restaurant, with Julie - who hardly says anything at all throughout the film - listening to the lorry driver’s stories. After they part ways, she hooks up with her female ex-lover (Claire Wauthion) and after some time spent in the kitchen, they retreat to the bedroom where they have sex before Julie leaves for good (presumably, the extended sex scene warranted the 18 Certificate of this Vol 1 release).

On then to DISC 3, which contains only one film, namely the greatest film of all time (apparently): ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles’ clocks in at a whopping 201 minutes, so there really is no need (nor the space) for another film on this disc. The story takes place over three days (over one hour screening time for each day…) and concerns Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig), a youngish widow and mother who, together with her adolescent son Sylvain (Jan Decorte), lives in an apartment at the address which makes up the film’s title. Jeanne’s daily regime consists of the same mundane chores from morning till night, namely preparing breakfast, preparing lunch, going shopping (the only time we see her outside her domestic environment), cleaning, preparing dinner, cleaning again… and a little bit of conversation with her son, who is usually busy with his homework. That domestic regime is only interrupted when, every afternoon, she changes from housewife and mother to prostitute and has sex with her clients (often the same men) in order to earn money - as she doesn’t have a job. Her son seems oblivious about her secret ‘occupation’ while he is at school though doesn’t he wonder where the money for bills and food comes from? Jeanne’s daily routine feels almost like a self imposed military drill, but when one of the clients gives her an orgasm during sex, her entire routine and emotional world is thrown off kilter… with fatal consequences. Ok, I get what Akerman is trying to say and Seyrig is compelling as a widowed mother who approaches her domestic chores with the precision of a robot. But is it really necessary to tell this story over three hours? As for the final shot, when Seyrig’s character simply sits on a chair, looking in a contemplative manner: we are talking roughly six minutes of precisely that and nothing else. Talk about pretentious, self-indulgent film-making! Of course, some would call it ‘art’.

DISC 4 contains the fascinating documentary ‘News from Home’ (1976) - a travelogue of sorts consisting of long takes (what else) of New York City. It has no dialogue but doesn’t need any, as the pictures speak for themselves. Included are shots of Times Square subways station and passengers on the subway, as well as different parts of Manhattan. It is particularly interesting in so far as it gives an honest impression as to what Manhattan looked like in the mid-seventies, with its impoverished parts like Hell’s Kitchen and also more affluent corners. Towards the end of the film, the Staten Island Ferry leaves Manhattan and we get a glimpse of the skyline and also of the Twin Towers, which formed part of the World Trade Center. It’s somewhat chilling to look at this skyline which has completely changed since the 9/11 attacks.
The final film in this set is ‘Rendez-vous d’Anna’ (‘Meetings with Anna’) from 1978, concerning Belgian filmmaker Anne Silver (Aurore Clément), as she travels through West Germany, Belgium and finally France to promote her new film. En route, she encounters strangers, friends, family members and ex-lovers. Clearly autobiographical, the film explores themes such as alienation and features an ensemble cast including German actor Helmut Griem and French actor Jean-Pierre Cassel. There isn’t much of a plot to write home about and as a result, the concept of the film doesn’t quite deliver.

Akerman’s work clearly belongs to the ‘slow cinema’ genre, which is characterised by a predominantly observational and minimalist style, often using a non-linear narrative and sparse dialogue. This genre is not for everyone and demands a totally different approach to viewing films which many, especially in our increasingly fast-paced world punctuated by lack of time and lack of attention span, may find a trifle difficult.
DISC 5 features various Bonus Material including audio commentaries, interviews, documents, plus 72-page book with new essays.