I’m ecstatic about Criterion’s release of this classic, a film I’ve been dying to see for years. Up there with antyhing Bresson tor Ozu ever made. One could call it a minimalist masterpiece, but with Akerman’s incredible attention to detail, can it really be called minimalist? Nothing on screen is unimportant, and the details actually help to further emphasize its themes.
Some of the finest interior compositions ever shot. Completely eye level, symmetrical, and with its title character inhabiting nearly every frame. As Jeanne’s life and routine begins to unravel, the composition becomes less tidy and more assymetrical.
Delphine Seyrig has a wonderfully cinematic look (she’s been a favorite of mine for some time), and this is the film for which she should be remembered most. She inhabits Jeanne in such a way that few actors have ever managed to inhabit a character.