Safe, Swallow, Silent Light and a handful of other indie/arthouse favorites are often listed as films influenced by Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman...
But outside of this blog and my own personal twitter feed, I seldom see the underrated slow burn horror masterpiece Entrance mentioned alongside the aforementioned films. And it should be...
Comparisons to Akerman, and Jeanne Dielman... are undeniable. We’ve been on record also citing the Dardenne brothers as huge influences. Both resonated as a mode of production style and atmosphere for us.
It focused in particular on a fascination with the day-to-day lived experience that was enigmatic on its own. There’s a certain vitality in watching someone carry out the well-practiced, work, chores, etc. When we were shooting Entrance, we would constantly encounter some sort of hiccup (construction crew showing up down the street to pour cement all day while we shot, the garage across the street burning and having a big tarp thrown over it in-between shoot days, rain, traffic, all of it), and Dallas [Hallam] would just keep saying; “Let it in. We gotta let life in instead of fighting it if we’re going to make this movie.” - Patrick Horvath, co-director of Entrance
Not only do both films share some of the same shots (with similar context), but the pacing is similar and both movies are quietly/sneakily depressive stories from the perspective of lonely/isolated women.
So as a follow-up to my recent post about Akerman’s subconscious influence on Joe Pera (click here), here’s a handful of visual comparisons between Jeanne Dielman... and Entrance.
Enjoy...
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |
Jeanne Dielman... / Entrance |