Je tu il elle

Dir. Chantal Akerman, 1974, 86 mins. DCP. Akerman’s first narrative feature, shot on 16mm on a shoestring budget after her return from New York City, is a triptych loosely based on Akerman’s own experiences hitchhiking across Belgium to visit an ex-girlfriend. We see Akerman alone in an apartment, obsessively arranging letters and killing time, a sexual encounter (which occuring offscreen) with a truck driver, and a long, explicit scene of Akerman having sex with her ex-girlfriend. Composed of long takes and fascinated with repetition and the details of daily life, Je tu il elle (which Akerman called “foolhardy”) is a seemingly simple film filled with mystery, and it paved the way for the masterwork she was to create the following year.

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.