This final work from the great Belgian director Chantal Akerman observes her mother's last months alive, offering a dispassionate depiction of a genial octogenarian going about her daily routine. It strongly evokes Akerman's landmark 1975 film Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels, in which a housewife/sex worker (Delphine Seyrig) is seen in daily rituals, from cooking to cleaning to sexual assignations with strangers (the kitchens in both films even feature similar shiny-tiled walls). Throughout this documentary, mother Natalia eats, reads magazines, and chats with Akerman. Words like “boring” and “exciting” don't quite apply here—the film is both and neither—as Akerman provides a privileged look at their relationship (in Skype sessions Natalia calls her "darling" and "sweetie"). If Natalia doesn't understand her daughter's methods, such as Akerman's predilection for lingering shots of trees bending in the wind or rolling hills seen outside a car window, she nevertheless respects her work. Although Natalia seems healthy, signs of her decline materialize about midway through the documentary, including difficulty eating and a wheezy cough. But this is not a depressing film, as Akerman prioritizes Natalia's life over her death (which takes place offscreen). What one remembers is Natalia saying, "When I see your smile, it makes me happy." After Natalia's death, Akerman suffered her own decline, culminating in her suicide in October 2015. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)
No Home Movie
Icarus, 115 min., not rated, DVD: $29.98 Volume 31, Issue 5
No Home Movie
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