Scorpio Rising (1964)
Kenneth Anger may be one of America’s preeminent independent filmmakers, but this film is little more than an elaborate home movie with a nifty soundtrack, including songs from Ricky Nelson, Elvis, Ray Charles, and Bobby Vinton.
Some might argue this plotless, meandering look at Scorpio as he tinkers with his motorcycle has artistic merit, and their arguments are not invalid, but this is art too. Sadly, artistic merit does not make a good movie.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Chantal Ackerman’s film chronicles three days in the life of single mother Jeanne Dielman, highlighting the monotonous nature of her traditional feminine existence.
Jeanne’s days are filled with chores. She goes to the market, she cooks for her son, and while he’s at school, she works as a prostitute. Sex has become another chore in her life.
A series of long, static shots of Jeanne going about her daily activities demonstrates how boring a domestic life is, bereft of intellectual and emotional fulfillment.
On the third day of our observation, Jeanne has an orgasm during a sexual encounter with her client. Overwhelmed, she kills him with a pair of scissors.
This was a groundbreaking, daring film in 1975, but forty years later, it seems trite. We’ve heard the same story many times: from Kate Chopin and Virginia Woolf, to Thelma and Louise (1991) and Erin Brockovich (2000). The problem with this film: it’s so invested in making a political statement, it fails to create an interesting movie.