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(out of 5)

Exquisite work by Chantal Akerman represents one of the highest points of her oeuvre. She incorporates her still camera and themes of isolation to explore the experiences of one woman who is cut off from those around her. Aurore Clément plays a filmmaker who is traveling through Europe to promote her latest project and encounters various people: a one-night stand whom she prevents from getting too close, an old friend who catches her up on her own disappointments, an ex-lover, and her own mother. Akerman uses a slow, almost painfully deliberate pace in telling the story, but the imagery is mesmerizing and the performances so languid that you will be sucked in by its intensity. There’s a beautiful scene where Clement sings Piaf’s “Les Amants D’Un Jour” a capella that is unforgettable, and the supporting cast is excellent.

Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Hélène Films, Paradise Films, Unité Trois, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen

France/Belgium/West Germany, 1978

Directed by Chantal Akerman

Screenplay by Chantal Akerman

Cinematography by Jean Penzer

Produced by Alain Dahan, Maya Faber-Jansen

Production Design by Philippe Graff

Film Editing by Francine Sandberg