Je tu il elle

The force of Akerman's disquieting and mesmeric first feature has been lost amid critical praise (for its modish sexual preoccupations) or blame (for its arrogant omission of plot). Look again. Sexually frank, coolly passionate, it's a spiritual odyssey on a low budget as we follow 'Je' (played by Akerman herself) writing a love letter ('Tu'), in a masturbatory affair with a lorry driver playing Marlon Brando ('Il'), and an unresolved encounter with her female lover ('Elle'). Minimal in style, maximum in impact, it achieves a feeling of quiet desperation most reminiscent of Fassbinder's early features; and similarly it's a daring prototype for more remarkable later work. DMacp.