The archives of Chantal Akerman and Paradise Films

Characters

Pré-production / Photos

Characters

Golden Eighties

Golden Eighties is a film about the world of shopkeepers and boutiques that Chantal Alerman knows well from her parents and she has chosen to treat this world in a rhythmic, choreographed way. She began to see Lubitsch, Capra, Cukor and, preserved in the archives, collected photos of Hollywood stars as distant references for her characters.

“The characters move through the mall with heroic grandeur (…) A stream of glass framed luxury boutiques with riveting displays. Behind windows, the occasional glimpses of perfectly made-up faces, now and then a look is held, usually a woman’s (…) And yet, they sometimes seem like the last of the Hollywood stars in their spotlights, so near but so unattainable, only separated from their audience by a glass door which remains always open”.

Chantal Akerman