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,…

Borde skriva någonting väldigt långt sett till att det kändes som en film längre än Shoah, men jag kommer nog hålla mig ganska kortfattad den här gången.

Först och främst: det här är en väldigt bra film som jag aldrig vill se igen, och en som är svår att kritisera på något annat vis än det objektivt sanna påståendet att den är tråkig, eftersom det liksom är hela poängen. Under dessa tre timmar får tittaren - mycket tack vare ett extremt voyeuristiskt och klaustrofobiskt kameraarbete - sätta sig i samma state of mind som Jeanne själv, och på så vis uppleva hennes monotona vardag som om man själv var där och tvingades genomlida den. Det är till och med så…

É tão difícil de julgar ou de defender Jeanne Dielman, a personagem-título dessa obra-prima da Chantal Akerman.

Tenho certeza que esse é exatamente o efeito esperado em Jeanne Dielman. Em sua longa duração, é um filme que te coloca, primeiro, como uma espécie de espírito rondando a personagem em sua rotina. O primeiro dia é maçante, sim. Mas talvez seja apenas maçante pela adaptação. É no segundo dia, quando você já conhece cada textura dos azulejos da cozinha ou como Jeanne organiza a sala de jantar que você percebe a casa de Jeanne Dielman.

Para um filme tão extenso como esse, é incrível o quão pouco sabemos de Jeanne Dielman. Nós a vemos servir seu filho e seus clientes, mas…

For something that seems so minimal and simple on the exterior, this film is perhaps one of the greatest studies of details, nuances and mannerisms. Throughout the film, we see a woman and we are presented distant (wide) and static frames with which to observe her. These long, lingering takes allow us time to think, to project our emotions onto the main character (who seem distant from themselves and their emotions). How does she feel? Why does she feel like this? But deeper then this is what feels like a study of Jeanne's routine and her reluctance to face her emotions and feelings. The film is cleverly constructed so that it does not appear to criticise or demean Jeanne's existence.…