This 1975 drama film has been labelled the ‘greatest film of all time’ and is available to stream on Amazon Prime. The British Film Institute carries out an annual survey known as The Sight and Sound poll, which asks critics about cinema. In this edition, 1,639 participating critics submitted their top 10 ballot – and a film from the 1970s reached the top spot.
‘Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles’ follows a lonely widow who lives with her teenage son, and spends her time taking care of their home, occasionally turning a trick to make ends meet. However, something happens that changes her whole life. It stars Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte and Henri Storck and was directed by Chantal Anne Akerman.
The film’s synopsis reads: “Jeanne Dielman (Seyrig), the widowed mother of a teenage son, Sylvain (Decorte), ekes out a drab, repetitive existence in her tiny Brussels apartment. Jeanne’s days are divided between humdrum domestic chores – shopping, cooking, housework – and her job as an occasional prostitute, which keeps her financially afloat.
“She seems perfectly resigned to her situation until a series of slight interruptions in her routine leads to unexpected and dramatic changes.”
The film has been listed on several best picture lists and was initially met with mixed opinions upon its release, but has now become a fine example of the slow cinema genre, and has garnered a cult following.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles has a 95% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes states: “Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles offers a lingering, unvarnished, and ultimately mesmerizing look at one woman’s existence.”
Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian awarded it five out of five stars and labelled it as a “meticulous masterpiece”.
A fan wrote on Reddit: “Nothing else was like it before it came out — truly experimental, and yet grounded, important, and interesting. Complex. Every static shot is a master touch in composition.”