This is not the kind of movie you would expect to top the greatest films of all time
Certain films fade into obscurity. Others gradually build their standing until they are suddenly hailed as the greatest ever produced.
This 1975 masterpiece falls into the latter category. For years, it was regarded as a slow-paced, unconventional drama.
Now, almost 50 years on, critics have declared it the finest film of all time. In 2022, it claimed top spot in the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound poll, a once-a-decade ranking determined by film critics worldwide.
It also maintains an impressive 95% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet it is not a major Hollywood blockbuster. It is not filled with action sequences or special effects. Rather, it concentrates on something far simpler and far more unsettling.
The film is Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
Written and directed by Chantal Akerman and starring Delphine Seyrig, the film chronicles three days in the existence of a widowed mother residing in Brussels with her teenage son.
Filmed over five weeks on location and financed by a $120,000 (£88,504) grant from the Belgian Government, it premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 1975 Cannes Film Festival on May 22 before being released in France in January 1976, reports the Express.
The narrative develops gradually. Jeanne prepares meals, tidies up, goes shopping and performs her daily tasks with almost flawless precision.
Each afternoon, she welcomes a man into her flat for a brief encounter, concealing the money afterwards. As small errors begin to infiltrate her routine, the tension steadily mounts towards a startling final scene.
Over the years, the film has been reassessed as a landmark of feminist cinema and an early forerunner of “slow cinema”. For countless viewers, it has become an absolute must-see.
One Rotten Tomatoes reviewer wrote: “There is a reason this is considered the greatest movie ever made. It is a brutally hard watch because of how real it feels.
“A lot of people don’t seem to have the capacity for empathy during the gruelling, long and boring scenes of housework that reflect how women were and are isolated and oppressed.”
Another added: “Absolutely deserving of its present status as the greatest film ever made. If you watch it passively, you won’t appreciate or enjoy it. It will seem boring or pointless.
“If you watch it actively and engagedly, you will find it stunning and richly rewarding. And the ending is a whopper!”
A third reviewer commented: “Absolute masterpiece. Mesmerizing. Beautifully shot. Very interesting idea that is well executed. The film has its own pace and makes the monotonous everyday life intriguing and hypnotising.”
A further viewer noted: “This might be one of my new favourite films! Every frame had meaning and information that built the story. Every moment was essential to the larger message. My own boredom, if any, came from incorrectly reading the information presented.”
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is available to stream on the BFI Player.
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