Film Details

Two key works by the late, great Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. The director herself stars in her minimalist first feature, Je Tu Il Elle. Reminiscent of early Fassbinder, it’s the stark tale of an isolated young woman who writes love letters in her spartan apartment and ventures out only for two sexual encounters. News from Home, made after Akerman moved to New York City, juxtaposes evocative images of 1970s Manhattan with Akerman’s voiceover reading of plaintive, sometimes scolding letters from her mother in Brussels. It’s a haunting portrait of absence and homesickness. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. DCP. Total 171 min.