I Am Woman, Hear Me Scrub the Bathtub

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Ep 36. Jeanne Dielman Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s a lady filmmaker podcast! With special guests Marya E. Gates of Cinema Fanatic and Kristen Sales of Sales on Film.

First, they methodically step through the 36th movie on the Sight and Sound Greatest of All Time list: Chantal Akerman’s 1975 feature, Jeanne Dielman 23 quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. There’s a lot to unpack in Akerman’s meticulous rendering of the daily rituals of a Belgian housewife-turned-prostitute. For some, the film is a reverent tribute to motherhood and the domestic sphere. Others see the film as survey of existential despair. And plenty more just see the world’s longest, most boring HGTV pilot. Listen up to hear our panelists’ takeaways.

Then, the ladies talk about Marya’s ongoing project called A Year With Women. Basically, for the entirety of 2015, Marya is only watching films directed by women. Marya talks about why she started this experiment, and why Hollywood still refuses to let women take the helm on big budget features.

They finish things up with a few final notes:

Here’s Kristen’s

Here’s Marya’s

Here’s Lady P’s