Like is usually the case with these sorts of things, the day-to-day maintenance operations of and for the patriarchal state are performed almost entirely by women. As the subjugated, enslaved class, they engaged in the preprogrammed routinized, menial labor without which the patriarchy could not be. The entire physical and psycho-emotional substrate of the apparatus of their oppression is entirely dependent upon their daily activities. Women are responsible for all custodial, caretaking tasks in support of male supremacy: cooking, cleaning, education, rearing, procreation, sexual gratification, etc. What is more, the evacuation of autonomy, of personal time, of personal thought, with the burden of near-constant routine action, is a (the?) primary modality of patriarchal oppression. 'Jeanne Dielman' is not about revolution…

I don't know why the routine that is depicted on the first day is taken as routine. I watched it and assumed that this rigid human being would adhere to this routine, even though each subsequent day is slightly (or drastically) different. The film succeeds in making it feel like a routine so thoroughly that the changes that come in the next two days are sharply distinct. Those static camera angles and the eerie flickering neon lights that pervade the house at night make the film seem harsh and predestined to some sort of apocalypse, and they reinforce the tight control Jeanne seems to cling to.

Jeanne seems to be in a state of self-denial, constantly moving, working to keep…

So this is one of the greatest movies of all time exactly beacause it is like smashing through a brick wall with your bare fists. I fucking hated watching Jeanne Dielman, I was bored out of my fucking mind. And through that boredom, through that anger, Chantal Akerman, the sly devil, allowed me to fully empathise with her main character. Jeanne Dielman I think shows the greatest case for how important it is to view a movie as a whole, that includes the time it was made in. You need to understand who this movie was for. The film was a silently deafening scream for help. It was showing a mirror into a world that so many of its viewers…

"Your hair's a mess."
"I cooked the potatoes too long."

When this was introduced, we (the audience) were told that if we feel bored, that's entirely by design. I see what he (the presenter) was getting at, and I'm sure he's completely correct, but I can't say that I ever felt bored while watching this. Certainly not bored in the way that doing the very activities depicted onscreen (cleaning dishes, making beds, having liaisons with strange and unappealing men) make me feel. A character like this, played with as much subtlety as Delphine Seyrig gives her, presented in this way could not be boring.

There's repetition, monotony, tedium, yes, but there's so much to take in. There is purpose and,…

‌Jeanne Dielman è un film difficile, ostico, uno di quei film che riescono a calarti completamente in un'altra realtà. Per tutte le 3 e più ore seguiamo sullo schermo la routine quotidiana di una casalinga di Bruxelles, vedova e madre di un figlio che manca per la maggior parte della giornata per impegni scolastici. Jeanne ripete costantemente le azioni tipiche delle casalinghe: cucina, lava i piatti, rimette a posto i letti, aiuta il figlio a studiare; inoltre, per raccimolare qualche soldo in più per vivere si dà alla prostituzione nella propria camera da letto. La donna, come un automa, ripete queste azioni e, quando trova del tempo per stessa, non sa come occuparlo ed è attanagliata da ansia. La sua…

When I was a teenager I read about Stranger Than Paradise somewhere and wanted to see it. My interest was partially because I'd read that it was directed by a guy named Jim Jarmusch, who was part of the late ’70s/early ’80s NYC No Wave/art scene but mainly because it featured Richard Edson, an early member of Sonic Youth, who were one of my favorite bands in high school. This was the pre-internet, pre-DVD era. None of the video stores in my small town had it and I didn't know where to mail order a copy so I had to wait years to see it. By the time I was able to rent it from a properly curated video rental…

Stay with with me here. So, I’m currently enrolled in a course on comparative theology that looks at both Christianity and Advaita Vedanta, a non-theological sect of Hinduism. I bring this up only because this viewing of Jeanne Dielman — a film characterized by its unflinching fixation on the tedious, almost essential quality of daily routine — brought to mind the significance of ritual as explained by Advaitan philosophy.

As a non-theological practice, Advaita still emphasizes the practice of conducting ritual sacrifice for the very practical purpose of reminding participants of their own distinct role in the system of the world. See, these rituals become something of a microcosm for existence, in that participants are made to recognize their own…

Jeanne Dielman es un alegato feminista y una película aburrida. Que sea aburrida no es malo, al contrario, Akerman quería que fuera “aburrida”, que sintiéramos igual de pesada la rutina de ama de casa como la siente a diario Jeanne, que nos desesperáramos y que quisiéramos gritar y salir corriendo después de dos horas con lo mismo.
La película es de premisa simple, pasamos 3 días con Jeanne, una mujer viuda y ama de casa en donde la vemos cuidar a su hijo adolescente, su hogar y nada más. No es hasta el minuto 37 donde Jeanne nos revela algo de su vida y una diminuta pero importante parte que nos ayuda a entender mejor la película y a la…