Why a film about washing potatoes became the greatest movie of all time
In short: Chantal Akerman’s 1975 masterpiece, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, transformed the mundane rituals of domestic life into a cinematic event. By filming chores in real time, Akerman challenged the hierarchy of images, proving that washing up is as worthy of the screen as any dramatic car crash.
The film follows a widowed mother, Jeanne, through three days of meticulous routine in her Brussels apartment. Her life is defined by cooking, cleaning, and caring for her teenage son, punctuated only by brief, ritualized sexual encounters with men. Akerman, who directed the film at age 25 after her 1974 success Je, tu, il, elle, intended the work as a tribute to her mother, aiming to give recognition to a specific type of woman. She secured $120,000 in funding from the Belgian government, though she famously discarded her initial script once production began.
Akerman’s approach was radical for its time, utilizing long, static takes to avoid cutting the action. By refusing to edit out the tedious parts of life, she forced viewers to confront the materiality of a woman's time in the home. As the routine begins to unravel—marked by small errors like overcooked potatoes—the film builds toward a sudden, violent climax. This formal austerity was initially met with polarized reviews, with some critics dismissing it as boring, while others hailed it as a revolutionary exploration of feminine experience.
Decades later, the film’s reputation has undergone a massive reappraisal. It is now a cornerstone of the slow cinema genre and a cult classic. In 2022, it achieved a historic milestone by topping the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound critics' poll, becoming the first film directed by a woman to hold the top spot. Its influence is evident in the work of modern directors like Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes, cementing its status as a definitive work of cinematic modernism.
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