| Je Tu Il Elle | |
| Director: | Chantal Akerman |
| Producer: | Chantal Akerman |
| Starring: | Chantal Akerman Niels Arestrup Claire Wauthion |
| Cinematography: | Bénédicte Delesalle |
| Runtime: | 86 minutes |
| Country: | Belgium France |
| Language: | French |
Je Tu Il Elle (in French pronounced as /ʒə ty il ɛl/; English: "I You He She") is a 1974 French-Belgian film by the Belgian film director Chantal Akerman. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, the film was selected to be shown at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016.[1]
Julie lives alone in her room; she narrates the film, the first line of which is "So I left". For the first third of the film, she rearranges her furniture, writes letters, lounges in the nude, and eats sugar out of a paper bag. She eventually leaves her room and hitchhikes with a young male driver. They make stops at a restaurant, a bar, and a restroom. She gives him a handjob and he discusses his family life in a long monologue, before they part ways.
Julie then visits a woman, her ex-lover, who makes Julie sandwiches and a drink. Julie then suggestively begins to undress the woman, and they have sex. Julie's narration says the woman told her (Julie) "You have to leave in the morning." She does, bringing the film full circle.
Akerman wrote the story for the film a few years prior to filming that she described once as both very personal along with not autobiographical due to its structure that mixes with her experiences as a teenager.[2] The sex scene between Julie and her ex-lover is the first graphic lesbian sex scene in mainstream cinema, and one of the longest lesbian sex scenes in film.[3] [4] [5]
The movie was well received by critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 100% rating based on reviews from 8 critics, and an average rating of 7.80/10.[6]