Chantal Akerman FilmFest: Day 3

Movie: Je Tu Il Elle (I You He She)
Year: 1974

Pretentious.
Groundbreaking.
Affecting.
Moving.
Weird.
Disturbing.
Stirring.
Warm.
Chilling.

Depending on your mood or your tastes, all of these descriptions apply to "Je Tu Il Elle." This film marked Akerman's first feature and came a year before the highly-successful "Jean Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles." The 23-year-old Akerman's fingerprints are all over the film--she directs, wrote the screenplay and stars as Julie, a tense, seemingly troubled young woman.

We first encounter Julie in a rundown apartment. The voiceover narration wearily guides us through her gauzy existence. She rearranges furniture, eats sugar from a bag and writes a long letter to (presumably) an old flame. She takes off her clothes and looks over her body. At times, the narration doesn't exactly match what's going on onscreen, which adds to the sense of strangeness we see from Julie's behavior. It's at times painful to watch Julie go through what passes for her daily routine, but at times fascinating. Akerman's portrayal of Julie brims with intensity and seriousness and the viewer certainly gets a sense of her isolation and, perhaps even her growing desperation or instability.

The second part of the film--and in my opinion the strongest section--takes place when Julie leaves her apartment and hitches a ride with a truck driver (Niels Arestrup). The truck driver, who represents the "Il" of the title, and Julie immediately form a bond, but an unconventional one. They eat and hang out together but barely talk or even look at each other much. Back in his truck, Julie performs a sexual act on the truck driver per his instructions. After that, the truck driver's words flow more freely and he tells Julie of his marriage, his children and his erotic thoughts and habits. This is not a conversation--Julie doesn't talk, only smiling admiringly from the passenger seat. It is a strong scene though, and is wonderfully photographed. Arestrup is impressive in delivering his monologue--he is certainly a sleaze and almost detached from his actions and thoughts, yet it is hard to take your eyes off of him or not pay attention to what he is saying.

In part three, Julie visits and old girlfriend (the "Elle," played by Claire Wauthion). The two star at each other for long periods of time, Julie shifting about uncomfortably and the girlfriend calmer and more still. The girlfriend tells Julie she doesn't want her to stay but Julie does end up staying and their sexual encounter closes out the movie. Like her session in the truck, this encounter is lacking in any kind of conventional eroticism. In fact, their foreplay is more akin to wrestling than anything else. Although there is an obvious attraction, there is no passion. The lovemaking is not mechanical; you don't get the sense that they are just going through the motions. But there is an overwhelming sense of disaffection that pervades this scene--indeed, the whole movie--and we Julie leaves in the morning we can feel her emptiness and isolation.

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