Golden Eighties
| Golden Eighties | |
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 French theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Chantal Akerman |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Martine Merignac |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Gilberto Azevedo |
| Edited by | Francine Sandberg |
| Music by | Marc Hérouet |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | French |
Golden Eighties (also known as Window Shopping) is a 1986 musical comedy film co-written and directed by Chantal Akerman.[1] The film explores themes such as consumerism, feminism, and Jewish identity through the lens of a shopping mall.[2]
Plot
[edit]The film follows the romantic lives of an ensemble of retail employees at a shopping mall.[3] Sylvie, a coffee shop employee, pines for her boyfriend who has traveled to Labrador seeking fortune. Her customer Eli, an American man, reencounters Jeanne, a Jewish woman from Poland who had been his lover in the wake of World War II when he was stationed in France. He pursues her in an attempt to start a new life with her, but ultimately, Jeanne cannot bring herself to leave the life she built with her shopkeeper husband and her son Robert.
Meanwhile, Pascale, a hairdresser, pines for Robert despite his love for the salon's manager Lili. Robert is rejected by Lili for Monsieur Jean, the wealthy married man who owns the salon. Robert instead resolves to marry hairdresser Mado, but is caught in a final tryst with Lili by Pascale. Word of Robert's infidelity spreads to everybody but Mado. When the news reaches Monsieur Schwartz, he tries to leverage it to make Monsieur Jean sell Lili's salon to him so he can expand his shop. Enraged, Monsieur Jean violently confronts Lili in the salon. Eli and Lili leave the mall together.
Three months later, Robert now runs a boutique in the space formerly occupied by the salon and is set to marry Mado. On the eve of the wedding, Lili returns to the mall to proclaim her love for Robert. Mado catches the pair kissing in a fitting room and is distraught, running to Jeanne for comfort. Jeanne consoles Mado by telling her that she and Robert would not have been happy together and invites her to dinner with herself and her husband. As they leave the mall, they run into Eli and his new wife.
Cast
[edit]- Delphine Seyrig as Jeanne Schwartz[4]
- Myriam Boyer as Sylvie
- Fanny Cottençon as Lili
- Lio as Mado
- Pascale Salkin as Pascale
- Charles Denner as Monsieur Schwartz
- Jean-François Balmer as Monsieur Jean
- John Berry as Eli
- Nicolas Tronc as Robert Schwartz
Production
[edit]Akerman conceived Golden Eighties in the style of a Technicolor MGM musical. Because this was a departure from her earlier work, she initially struggled to secure funding. In 1983, she released a documentary showcasing the movie's early production stages to attract investors.[5] The first hour of the documentary, titled Les Années 80, featured rehearsal scenes. The documentary continued with an abbreviated version of the musical, followed by Akerman thanking her collaborators in a 360-degree pan of Brussels. It concluded with the phrase "Next year in Jerusalem".[6]
Although Les Années 80 was poorly received at the 1983 New York Film Festival,[7] Akerman eventually secured financing. Filming took place in Brussels over eight weeks in 1985. Budget constraints resulted in a more modest production; for example, choreography was simpler than originally envisioned.[8]
Release
[edit]Golden Eighties premiered at the 1986 Directors' Fortnight, a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival.[9] The film received a limited release in the United States on 17 April 1992 under the title Window Shopping[3] to avoid confusion with Les Années 80, the musical's making-of documentary, which was released as Golden Eighties in the United States.[7]
Reception
[edit]Golden Eighties enjoyed modest success in Belgium and France. In a 1992 review for The New York Times, critic Vincent Canby called it "an unpretentious, absolutely charming romantic comedy-with-music, the small scale of which perfectly suits the passions of its characters".[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Golden Eighties". Festival de Cine de Sevilla. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "Golden Eighties". The Criterion Channel. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Canby, Vincent (17 April 1992). "Review/Film: New Scenes from a Mall, with Music". The New York Times. Sec. C, p. 13.
- ^ "Golden Eighties". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "A Nos Amours: Chantal Akerman 8: Les Années 80". Institute of Contemporary Arts. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ Roberts, Adam (24 April 2014). "Chantal Akerman's Les Années 80 – A Film About Spinning". HuffPost. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ a b Maslin, Janet (2 October 1983). "'Eighties', a Surreal Rehearsal". The New York Times. p. 59.
- ^ Jamet, Xavier (30 January 2018). "Photographies de tournage de Golden Eighties de Chantal Akerman, par Jean Ber" (in French). La Cinémathèque française. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "1986 – Directors' Fortnight". Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
External links
[edit]Films directed by Chantal Akerman | |
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- 1986 films
- 1986 comedy films
- 1980s French films
- 1980s French-language films
- 1980s musical comedy films
- Belgian musical comedy films
- Films directed by Chantal Akerman
- Films set in shopping malls
- French musical comedy films
- French-language Belgian films
- French-language Swiss films
- Swiss musical comedy films
- Workplace comedy films
- Films with screenplays by Pascal Bonitzer
- 1986 musical films
- French-language musical comedy films