Is Jeanne Dielman the Most Groundbreaking Feminist Film Ever?

Since Sight and Sound’s creation in 1952, Chantal Akerman has been the first and only female director to take the number one spot, a ground-breaking achievement for not only Jeanne Dielman, but for cinema as a whole.

Akerman was only 24 years old when creating what would go on to be a landmark film for feminist filmmaking. Using an almost entirely female crew and a $120,000 grant awarded by the Belgian government, it was shot over five weeks in Brussels in 1975.

When Jeanne Dielman premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 1978, it was initially met with mixed critic reviews. Some responded to its usage of real-time action as being dull and draining, features which, I would argue, are paramount to its stirring effect. Its dedication to the slowness of the titular character’s days makes for a viewing that feels more like an experience than simply watching a film. It was certainly groundbreaking experimentation, at the very least.

Jeanne Dielman follows the main character of the same name, a widowed housewife played by Delphine Seyrig, through three days in her life. We watch as she performs her daily ritualistic tasks, like cleaning, popping to the shops or cooking dinner for her ungrateful, teenage son (Jan Decorte). These types of actions are very rarely shown in real time on screen like they are in Jeanne Dielman, let alone being placed as the dominant focus, defiantly highlighting the ‘housewife’ as the central character.

The camera, relentless in its commitment to not looking away or cutting to the next scene, allows us as an audience to be placed firmly in her shoes.

Akerman explains that it “was the only way to shoot the film – to avoid cutting the action in a hundred places, to look carefully and to be respectful. The framing was meant to respect her space, her, and her gestures within it”. We feel her slow build of boredom and frustration, and therefore understand her character, the embodiment of the overlooked woman, on a level that a lot of films cannot achieve.

Not only are its themes intrinsically feminist, but the very structure of this film is confrontational and truly new. This film doesn’t treat its viewers as passive but rather as active participants in its story, forcing us to endure these tasks alongside her. Ultimately, we end up noticing tiny details in the changes to her days, becoming so used to them through our compulsory involvement with her tasks that they too make us uncomfortable.

Jeanne Dielman is a film that takes such a bold and conscience feminist stance, a must watch for those who appreciate the importance of revolutionary cinema and important female-centred art.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Tyneside Cinema screens Jeanne Dielman from the 8th of March. You can book tickets now.