Ep833: IndieSeen: JEANNE DIELMAN (1975) / BFI? BFD! Part 1

"IndieSeen" closes out 2022 by planting seeds for Kicking the Seat's next decade!

"Sight and Sound" (the magazine of the British Film Institute) recently released its ranking of "The Greatest Films of All Time", and the controversial boosting of Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23. quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles from #36 to #1 set FIlm Twitter ablaze.

The 1975 drama centers on three days in the life of a single mother (Delphine Seyrig). She cleans her apartment, makes coffee, takes care of her teenage son, and pays the bills by sleeping with a succession of distant, skeevy men. Does this experiment in slow cinema deserve a place among the likes of Citizen Kane, Vertigo, and Tokyo Story?

The guys' initial answers won't surprise you, but the episode-long evolution of one particularly harsh opinion just might. Ian and Sujewa talk about the poll, the film, the Twitter drama, and Ian's plans to discuss every film on the BFI list until the next edition comes out in 2032!

Also, the guys catch up on Sujewa's current projects, as well as his own wildly ambitious plans for the future!

Timestamps:

Intro: 0:00 - 1:09

What's New with Sujewa? 1:10 - 9:20

BFI: Setting the Stage: 9:21 - 15:54

Jeanne and Chantal: 15:55 - 24:35

"The Greatest Film of All Time": 24:36 - 39:08

The 2022 Top 20 Draft: 39:09 - 44:26

"The Straight White Male Canon": 44:27 - 50:11

Jeanne Dielman, Revisited: 50:12 - 59:20

Outro: 59:21 - 101:18

Show Links:

Watch the Jeanne Dielman trailer.

Read Sight and Sound's 2022 list of "The Greatest Films of All Time".

Read Armond White's critique of the "Sight and Sound" poll (and of Jeanne Dielman's place in the top spot) at The National Review.

Read Glenn Kenny's analysis of the "Sight and Sound" poll at Decider (mentioned, without proper citation at the time, in the show).

Read Jordan Ruimy's blog about the consultant hired to help diversify the "Sight and Sound" polling results (including his controversial tweet) at World of Reel.

Watch Ian and Sujewa discuss Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives on "The Slowdown" (mentioned in the show).

Rent Sujewa's new movie, The Secret Society for Slow Romance.

Find clips, making-of videos, and other cool info about Sujewa's upcoming film, The Secret Society for Slow Romance.

Follow the production of Sujewa's Slow Romance sequel, Cosmic Disco Rene.

Keep up with all of Sujewa's projects.

Follow Sujewa on Twitter.

And if you'd like to catch up on Ian's Jeanne Dielman live-tweets, follow him as well!

Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!