Watching "Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles" With Awe and Admiration

Why Chantal Akerman's 1975 Masterpiece Deserves Its "Greatest Film of All Time" Award

Delphine Seyrig in “Jeanne Dielman”

This essay contains plot spoilers, but not the big one.

When Sight and Sound named “Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles” its “Greatest Film of All Time” in its once-in-a-decade poll in 2022, the Internet erupted in disbelief. How could an art film that so few people had heard of, let alone seen, earn the universal esteem of a poll of industry professionals? (It came in first among critics, ahead of “Vertigo”, “Citizen Kane”, and “Tokyo Story”; and fourth among directors, behind “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “Citizen Kane”, and “The Godfather”.)

I’ve recently watched “Jeanne Dielman”, so I can tell you why it won: it’s mesmerizing and unforgettable. As someone who used to watch hundreds of movies a year for work and pleasure, I can attest that few are truly memorable. While I’ve trained myself to forget the mediocre ones immediately, I retain even the best in piecemeal fashion, remembering one or two scenes but not the whole. In contrast, “Jeanne Dielman” is seared in my mind, where it currently plays on a continuous loop, and might always.