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Noah_Miller
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Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
In Defense of the Film and Sight & Sound
When I first watched this movie a few years ago, I liked what it was going for more than I enjoyed it. With a premise like this, it's a very boring movie as there isn't really a plot present in the film. However, over the years I have constantly thought about it. I heard one person talk about watching it years later and loving it and someone else who also thought it was boring but felt it had grown on him over time as well, so I had wanted to return to this at some point in time to see how I'd feel and with it topping the Sight and Sound poll this decade, I thought this would be a good time to rewatch it.
Is it really the greatest film ever? No, Vertigo, Citizen Kane and 2001 (which topped the director's poll) are of course better films (but to be fair, the "greatest movie ever" is subjective and the poll is just counting up the number of votes each film has gotten). However, I'm not upset that this topped the list as it is such an interesting choice. Also, I actually fell in love with the film. I'm aware people will think I'm very pretentious for thinking that and while it is for sure a chore to sit through, it is very effective at showing how frustrated Jeanne Dielman is.
It captures her daily life as a widowed housewife and all the mundane parts of her life. It starts off okay, but she gets more frustrated on day 2, and on day 3, you see her routine fumble a bit and her drop things, showing how increasingly depressed she is. It's all of the subtle details that make the actress's performance great. The set design is simple, but nice, showing an average home. There's more to it than just cooking and cleaning beginning to end. I never thought I would get this kind of reaction from this movie, but I really did fall in love with it. It is perhaps a little too long, but I do think the length is necessary to show just how frustrating it is as a short film or even 1.5 hours wouldn't be enough to give you that feeling. I would recommend revisiting this film several years later after watching it once to see if you get a similar reaction.
I don't believe that it is unfair to hate this movie as it is very boring, but I didn't find it very boring upon rewatch. I do however think it is unfair to blindly hate it just because it doesn't have much of a story. I know some people are criticizing the Sight and Sound poll for having a more diverse selection of films, including this movie with people thinking people only like it because of its themes and not because of its filmmaking, but believe me, I don't think movies are good for their message and there are plenty of films such as Black Christmas 2019 that are hot trash, there needs to be more to the film than a message, and I think this film really is great. It's not like Disney where there are lazily thrown in lines and representation that could be edited out for some countries, this was made by someone who actually had something to say. Sure, there are people who chose certain films based off their beliefs, but keep in mind, stories connect to people in different ways and since there was over twice as many voters this time, including a more diverse range of people, this was bound to happen. A lot of the films on the list in the past have had similar themes and messages as well, so I wouldn't fault the list for that reason alone. Especially since this was in the top 50 in 2012. I think people should just look at the list as an opportunity to discover new films.
I would say that I agree with the director's poll more overall, and I dislike that certain movies were no longer on the list, but again, it doesn't matter, and I am fine with this on top of the list, even if I don't agree with it being the best. It may not be a movie I would rewatch often and it may not be the most entertaining movie, but I genuinely love this movie now. I love cinema.
BoJack Horseman: Brrap Brrap Pew Pew (2016)
A Controversial Topic Tackled by Bojack Horseman
While not one of the greatest episodes, it is still an entertaining episode that shows how the media covers abortion, especially for famous people, and how awful they treat it. It definitely takes a pro-choice stance but I didn't think it criticizes the other side harshly as it's more critical towards the media. The person who wrote the 1/10 review sounded like they didn't give the episode a chance or get the point. They claim that the episode says that white men are incapable of making moral decisions, which is stupid to think because the episode is obviously trying to say that the media doesn't get the viewpoints from other people, nor does the episode say that women are always right like the 5/10 review does. It does a good job tackling its subject matter and although it isn't one of the show's best and it likely won't change anyone's opinions, I think it is a good episode and people on both sides should watch it with an open mind.