three films

Delphine Seyrig as Jeanne Deilman

*Note: This post was originally written January 31, 2025. I originally intended to write a follow-up post about books after this one, but never did (whoops).

Last year I set out on a journey of consumption and at the top of that list was reading more books (a separate recap is forthcoming) and watching more movies. For movies, I didn’t create a particular goal, but rather wanted to be more conscious of my film intake. I kept a list in the back of my planner and ended up watching a total of 66 films! Some of these were movies I had seen before (I love a good rewatch), but many of them were new to me. The following list is a breakdown of the movies that stuck with me the most after watching them.

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels (1975), directed by Chantal Akerman

This was my first film of 2024 and it was an iconic way to kick things off. A quiet and methodical film documenting the daily existence of a widowed mother in 1970s Belgium that comes in at nearly three and a half hours may not sound like the most engaging premise, but this film immediately reeled me in. Over the course of three days, the viewer witnesses the precise routine of a woman working within the confines of her house and completing the occasional errand in her surrounding neighborhood. The pacing of the movie allows one to feel intimately connected with Jeanne Dielman, while simultaneously being held at arm’s length. We, as viewers, are positioned within her domestic environment and bear witness to her existence, yet we know little about her internal world. By taking us through the minutiae of Dielman’s labor, Akerman both invites us to examine and appreciate the often overlooked nature of women’s work. Beyond the “respectable” work of cooking, cleaning, and mending clothes, Akerman prompts us to consider less socially acceptable forms of work as well. With the mechanical ease born out of a consistent routine, Jeanne Dielman seamlessly transitions from sex work to tackling mundane chores around the house, maintaining a tidy and respectable home environment for her unwitting teenage son.

Despite watching this film over a year ago, I think about it constantly. As a feminist text, it provides a nuanced look at a specific place and time, while also highlighting the gendered drudgery that still persists to this day. After watching, I found myself contemplating my own routines and recreating certain aspects of the film. This mostly involved doing some chores in silence (i.e. washing dishes or sweeping the floor) as opposed to my normal habit of drowning out my thoughts with podcasts, audiobooks, and music. It also helped me to contextualize motherhood and consider the constant labor provided by my own mother and my grandmother (who would have also been preparing meals for a teenager in 1975). I recommend this film to anyone and everyone, but if you are interested in dissecting the weight of women’s domestic labor, then this film is for you.

Me Without You (2001), directed by Sandra Goldbacher

I don’t know if I can express how much I loved this movie. After watching it, I immediately wanted my best friend to see it and watched it a second time with her. Spanning over three decades, this film shows the tumultuous ups and downs of a toxic female friendship through the pairing of the quiet and reserved Holly and the gregarious and chaotic Marina. Throughout the film, you watch the girls make mistakes, hurt each other, and grow up within the confines of a platonic love they crave, despite it poisoning each of them in different ways. Marina’s older brother Nat also plays an important role in this dynamic and fuels much of the conflict between the two girls. As the years pass, characters rotate in and out of their lives, but I appreciate the common thread of family and the way that Goldbacher provides multiple checkpoints between the girls and their parents, thereby demonstrating how familial roles and relationships evolve over time. Despite all of this tension, there are moments of humor and joy and the viewer gets to be immersed in each phase of these characters’ lives. From growing up as next-door neighbors, to suffering through rundown college housing, to living in their adult apartments, the film invites you into the environments that shaped them and fleshes out the context of their experiences with an attention to detail that left me wanting to investigate every corner of every space. 

So much happens within this film that I think watching it a second time helped me process it more fully, but at its core, it reminds us that female friendships are complex. I’ve had many a shitty friend over the years, but none whose toxicity kept a hold of me for decades. Growing up can be such a painful process and this film makes me think about how as I leave past versions of myself behind, it’s okay to leave some of those relationships behind as well. I am also super grateful for the friendships I currently have because I can’t imagine any of my present-day besties sabotaging me in the way these girls did and for that I am truly thankful.  

Summertime (1955), directed by David Lean

Another double watch movie for me, this film stars Katharine Hepburn as Jane Hudson, an unmarried, middle-aged secretary from Akron (we love an Ohio connection). For years, Jane has saved her money so that she could take the trip of her lifetime and spend a summer living in Venice. Despite Hepburn’s classic transatlantic accent, the earnestness of Jane in her attempt to have an adventure while in Italy is both sweet and a little sad. She struggles to find her footing, even amongst other Americans living in her pension and her loneliness and insecurity are so palpable it’s hard not to feel sorry for her. She befriends an Italian boy who wanders around with her and eventually a love interest emerges with a local shop owner. The beauty of this film, however, is watching Jane gradually grow in her confidence and extend herself in ways she always dreamed of, but never had the courage to do beforehand. 

This film is gorgeous - I felt like I was the one who was vacationing in Venice and I resonated with Jane’s idealistic hope for adventure while abroad. Without giving away the ending, I think one of the best parts of this movie is Lean’s emphasis on Jane’s individual development and how sometimes not getting what one wants is exactly what one needs. I also really enjoyed watching an older character (and older actress - Hepburn was 48 at the time the movie was released) live a dynamic life. A different version of this story could have been told with a young woman in her twenties setting off for Italy in search of love and adventure, but it feels so much more meaningful to watch an older woman go through this process. As women are pushed to be more and more invisible as they age, I love that this film focuses on a woman who has lived a lot, but wants more from her life. Jane is forthright and determined, but still soft and open. She takes things in stride and keeps moving forward, a lesson from which we can all benefit every now and then.