*** BEFORE THE FLOOD (YAN YU & LI YIFAN - 2005 – China)
China's Three Gorges Dam, the largest ever built on earth, is expected to be completed in 2009. Until then, millions of local residents will have to be relocated, because hundreds of towns and villages — including countless natural monuments and historically important places — will be flooded. Yan Mo documents the relocation of Fengjie, a 1,000-year-old city on the Yangtze River, a bustling centre of commerce and a community of considerable social vitality
BEFORE THE FLOOD follows the inhabitants who are chased out of their houses and feel betrayed and abandoned by the local officials. Directors Yan Yu and Li Yifan observe without comment, focusing mostly on an aging innkeeper and the staff of the parish church. Some scenes are too long and would have been more effective had they been edited down to the essentials but overall, this is an enthralling piece of cinema.
**** JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (CHANTAL AKERMAN - 1976 – Belgium/France)
Hailed internationally upon its release as a masterpiece of feminist filmmaking, "Jeanne Dielman" today stands as a landmark in film history. Thanks to Jem Cohen, I finally got the chance to see this 1975 experiment in film form which minutely details the three-day routine of a widow living with her son. The endless sequences of household chores performed in silence before a static camera look somehow dated in 2005, but the importance in film history of “Jeanne Dielman” is still omnipresent when watching the movie. A resolute marathon session of 225 min. that becomes an unforgettable experience. A true piece of art.
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