Golden Eighties

Golden Eighties
Golden Eighties
	French theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chantal Akerman
Written by	Pascal Bonitzer; Henry Bean; Chantal Akerman; Jean Gruault; Leora Barish;
Produced by	Martine Merignac
Starring	Delphine Seyrig; Myriam Boyer; Fanny Cottençon; Lio; Pascale Salkin; Charles Denner; Jean-François Balmer; John Berry; Nicolas Tronc;
Cinematography	Gilberto Azevedo
Edited by	Francine Sandberg
Music by	Marc Hérouet
Production; companies	La Cecilia; Paradise Films; Limbo Film;
Distributed by	Pari Films; Gerick Distribution;
Release dates	15 May 1986 (Cannes); 25 June 1986 (France);
Running time	96 minutes
Countries	Belgium; France; Switzerland;
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

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.

Months after these events, 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 girlfriend.

Cast

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

Akerman had conceived Golden Eighties in the style of a

Next year in Jerusalem".^[6]

Although Les Annees 80s was poorly received at the 1983 New York Film Festival,^[7] Akerman eventually secured the funding she needed. Filming for the funded feature took place in Brussels over the course of eight weeks in 1985. Budget constraints resulted in a more modest production than Akerman had envisioned; for example, the choreography was simpler than she had hoped.^[8]

Release

Golden Eighties premiered at the 1986

limited release in the United States on 17 April 1992 under the title Window Shopping^[3] to avoid confusion with Les Annees 80s, the musical's making-of documentary which was released as Golden Eighties in the United States.^[7]

Reception

Golden Eighties enjoyed modest success in Belgium and France upon its original release. In a 1992 review for The New York Times, critic Vincent Canby described the film as an "unpretentious, absolutely charming romantic comedy-with-music, the small scale of which perfectly suits the passions of its characters".^[3]

References

^ "Golden Eighties". Festival de Cine de Sevilla. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
^ "Golden Eighties". The Criterion Channel. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Vincent Canby (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.
^ Adam Roberts (24 April 2014). "Chantal Akerman's Les Anneés 80 – A Film About Spinning". HuffPost. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
^ ^a ^b Janet Maslin (2 October 1983). "Eighties, a Surreal Rehearsal". The New York Times. p. 59.
^ Xavier Jamet (30 January 2018). "Photographies de Tournage de Golden Eighties de Chantal Akerman, par Jean Ber" (in French). La Cinémathèque Français. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
^ "1986 – Directors' Fortnight". Quinzaine-Realisateurs.com. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

External links

Golden Eighties at
IMDb

Golden Eighties at AllMovie

[1] "Golden Eighties". Festival de Cine de Sevilla. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

[2] "Golden Eighties". The Criterion Channel. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

[window-3] Vincent Canby (17 April 1992). "Review/Film: New Scenes from a Mall, with Music". The New York Times. Sec. C, p. 13.

[4] "Golden Eighties". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

[5] "A Nos Amours: Chantal Akerman 8: Les Années 80". Institute of Contemporary Arts. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

[6] Adam Roberts (24 April 2014). "Chantal Akerman's Les Anneés 80 – A Film About Spinning". HuffPost. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

[nyff-7] Janet Maslin (2 October 1983). "Eighties, a Surreal Rehearsal". The New York Times. p. 59.

[8] Xavier Jamet (30 January 2018). "Photographies de Tournage de Golden Eighties de Chantal Akerman, par Jean Ber" (in French). La Cinémathèque Français. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

[9] "1986 – Directors' Fortnight". Quinzaine-Realisateurs.com. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

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