Je, tu, il, elle (1976)

Director:

Chantal Akerman

Writers:

Chantal Akerman (writer)
Eric De Kuyper (co-writer)

Release Date:

27 December 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

'Je' is a girl voluntarily lock up in a room. 'Tu' is the script. 'Il' is a lorry driver. 'Elle' is the girlfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Road | Nudity | Lesbian | Lesbian Scene | Masturbation Scene

Cast

Chantal Akerman	...	Julie
Niels Arestrup	...	Truck-driver
Claire Wauthion	...	Girlfriend

Also Known As:

I, You, She, He
Ik, jij, hij, zij (Belgium: Flemish title)

Runtime:

Spain:90 min | USA:90 min | Belgium:86 min

Country:

France | Belgium

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006)

Painfully Naked Honesty in Examination of Identity and Sexuality

Some use film-making as a tool to reflect themselves and search their identities. With her first important feature, Je, tu, il, elle, Chantal Akerman relays this tradition, which has been established and inherited mostly by generations of female filmmakers, from Maya Deren to Rose Troche and Jennie Livingston. Like Deren, Akerman combines a traditional narrative and surrealistic ingredients, but Akerman's surrealism is more true-to-life than Deren's, as seen in a sugar-only diet of "Je" or a wrestling-like foreplay between "Je" and "Elle." Painfully naked honesty in these scenes shows how seriously Akerman is in need of examining her identity and sexuality.

(The surface of the film extremely resembles Stranger Than Paradise by Jim Jarmusch, completed in 1983; the two films share the three-episode plot and the B/W medium shots by the fixed camera without panning/tilting/dollying. But this may be irrelevant for viewing this Akerman film.)