It’s so Belgian.
Is that Akerman?
Yes, after a false start the other day, this is the first movie proper on the Akerman box set from BFI.
So, this seems to be a series of short tableaux where we see a couple people interact. They’re all lit like this — one or two bright lights placed pretty far off, so much of the screen is #000. Apparently no sound was recorded when filming, but there’s some hyper active foley artists working very hard — every step has a STEP STEP STEP sound, and every door has a creak and a BONK.
So far none of the characters have made a return… but perhaps that’s the movie — just a series of encounters in one night, and no plot?
In any case, this definitely seems like a scaled back production from Akerman’s 70s movies. Did she lose financing?
Does everybody in Belgium have their own code displayed on the houses?
29.M.57 ISO 368.HB.
I really like the way it looks, but unlike other Akerman films, I’m not really hypnotised by this one.
OK, there are storylines of a kind… characters reappear and we can (sort of) follow along some stories.
It’s morning!
I liked this movie. It did fall off a bit towards the end when we spend more time with a handful of the characters — the vagueness of the main part of the movie was quite appealing.
Toute une nuit. Chantal Akerman. 1982. ⚄
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