Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Blu-Ray

Directed by Chantal Akerman, Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is a landmark of feminist and avant-garde cinema. The film, running over three hours, depicts three days in the life of Jeanne (Delphine Seyrig), a widowed housewife living in Brussels with her teenage son. Akerman observes Jeanne’s routine in meticulous detail: cooking, cleaning, shopping, and performing sex work to make ends meet.

What begins as an almost hypnotic portrayal of domestic order gradually unravels, as tiny disruptions in Jeanne’s routine build toward an explosive, shocking finale. Akerman’s static, frontal camera and deliberate pacing emphasize the weight of time, labor, and repetition in women’s lives, turning the mundane into something radical and deeply unsettling.

The film has been widely praised for its uncompromising vision and feminist perspective. In 2022, Sight and Sound named it the greatest film of all time in their decennial critics’ poll, cementing its legacy as one of cinema’s most important works.