L'Homme à La Valise (1983)

Genres - Comedy  |   Run Time - 60 min.  |   Countries - Belgium, France  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Eleanor Mannikka

A sensitivity to sounds coming from the activities of an unwelcome guest in the close quarters of an apartment is only one important component in this atmospheric, avant-garde drollery by Chantal Akerman. When the apartment owner comes home, her guest is settled in and at first, the slightly reclusive host decides simply to eat her breakfast in her room instead of having to face morning conversation with her guest. Sounds of the toilet flushing, the bath water running and splashing, footsteps pacing, and furniture moving invade the hostess' refuge in her bedroom like the frontrunners of an all-out offensive. She locks herself up for 28 days, life's detritus accumulating around her, just so she does not have to go out to face the nemesis that lurks beyond her door. Then suddenly on one occasion, she catches a flash of a naked male in the bathroom, on another occasion, the man bursts out singing a refrain from Oklahoma -- this is absolutely more than she can handle, and her determination to stay holed up is all the stronger. How long can this last? Director Akerman has expertly captured an induced paranoia with humor and artistic finesse in this peek at the making of a hermit.

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Keywords

guest, hermit, paranoia, phobia