“Sight and Sound’s best film was radically different (and longer) than the one the director had recently made.”

In 2022, many avid film fans eagerly awaited the ten-yearly visual and audio list of the “greatest films of all time,” one of the most prestigious lists of its kind. To the surprise of many, however, the top choice was not the familiar dizziness or Citizen Kanebut the avant-garde feminist film from 1975 Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Brussels. This placement gave the film’s incredibly talented and influential director more mainstream attention. Chantal Akermanwho previously even had a fascinating film career Jeanne Dielmann. This impressive filmography included numerous short films as well as her debut film “1974”. Je Tu Il Elle(or I, you, he, she.)

What is “Je Tu Il Elle” about?

The first thing you notice when you watch Je Tu Il Elle is that it’s actually about nothing, at least in the traditional narrative sense. Similar Jeanne Dielmann, The film does not feature the traditional presentation of a story that audiences may be most familiar with, but is instead divided into three distinct segments: One in which the protagonist (Julie, played by Akerman) eats lonely from a bag of sugar and rearranges her furniture, one in which Julie talks to a truck driver and has a brief sexual encounter with him, and one in which Julie An ex-lover meets up with him again. If a viewer expects an epic plot twist or some quick-witted lines of dialogue, he will be sorely disappointed as the film requires not only a lot of patience but also a lot of personal analysis. The story of the film or the meaning of the film is not presented obviously and is determined based on the meanings each individual viewer projects onto it while looking at it, making it an incredibly unique experience.

When a film doesn’t have a traditional plot, the next question likely to be asked is, “What is it about?” And as mentioned, the beauty of the film lies in the subjectivity of the answer to that. It might not make sense to some viewers, and stuff like that Jeanne Dielmann seems to be a film about a woman who does nothing, Je Tu Il Elle could just be a movie about a woman eating out of a bag of sugar and briefly interacting with a few people. For a viewer who is more open to engaging with the film, There are themes such as isolation, sexuality and coming to terms with one’s own identity that need to be addressedtold through a more female-focused lens. The title itself is enigmatic; The most obvious interpretation is that the “I” is Akerman himself, the “you” is the viewer, and the “he” and “she” are the trucker and ex-lover respectively, but much like the rest of the film, many other conclusions can be drawn from this are drawn, related to psychology, philosophy, art and more. And once again lies the beauty of the film, how you can either just look at it, try to analyze it more objectively, or engage with it on a more subjective, personal level (a principle that could be applied to most major works of art).

How did “Je Tu Il Elle” influence “Jeanne Dielman”?

Je Tu Il Elle also acts as a precursor to Akerman’s most famous work, Jeanne Dielmannwhich was released the following year, 1975. However, not as extensive and extensive in term as Jeanne Dielmann, Je Tu Il Elle uses the same style of long takeswhere the camera records certain everyday activities for an exceptionally long time. This style of filmmaking encourages engaged viewing, because the apparent lack of action gives way to very subtle details as the film progresses This can add more meaning to the characters and the overall piece, as shown by the extensive analysis that has been done Jeanne Dielmann.

Je Tu Il Elle is not a film intended for casual viewing. In fact, it would probably be more at home in a dedicated cinema room in an art gallery than on the living room TV. But for the viewer who finds experimentation with form and films designed for multiple interpretations compelling, this is a piece of film history worth seeking out.

Je Tu Il Elle is streaming in the US on Max

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