''Golden Eighties'' (also known as ''Window Shopping'') is a 1986

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

co-written and directed by

Chantal Akerman Chantal Anne Akerman (; 6 June 19505 October 2015) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter, artist, and film professor at the City College of New York. Akerman is best known for her films (1974), (1975), and '' News from Home'' (1976). The ...

. The film explores themes such as

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, and

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective sense of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. It encompasses elements of nationhood, "The Jews are a nation and were so before there was a Jewish state of Israel" "Jews are ...

through the lens of a shopping mall.

Plot

The film follows the romantic lives of an ensemble of retail employees at a shopping mall. Sylvie, a coffee shop employee, pines for her boyfriend who has traveled to

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

seeking fortune. Her customer Eli, an American man, reencounters Jeanne, a Jewish woman from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

who had been his lover in the wake of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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. Three months later, 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 wife.

Cast

Production

Akerman conceived ''Golden Eighties'' in the style of a

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

musical. Because this was a departure from her earlier work, she initially struggled to secure funding. In 1983, she released a documentary showcasing the movie's early production stages to attract investors. The first hour of the documentary, titled ''Les Années 80'', featured rehearsal scenes. The documentary continued with an abbreviated version of the musical, followed by Akerman thanking her collaborators in a 360-degree pan of Brussels. It concluded with the phrase "

Next year in Jerusalem ''L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim'' (), is a phrase that is often sung at the end of the Passover Seder and - in the Eastern Asheknazic rite - at the end of the ''Ne'ila'' service on Yom Kippur. Its use during Passover was first recorded by Isaa ...

". Although ''Les Années 80'' was poorly received at the 1983

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

, Akerman eventually secured financing. Filming took place in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

over eight weeks in 1985. Budget constraints resulted in a more modest production; for example, choreography was simpler than originally envisioned.

Release

''Golden Eighties'' premiered at the 1986

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

, a parallel section of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. The film received a limited release in the United States on 17 April 1992 under the title ''Window Shopping'' to avoid confusion with ''Les Années 80'', the musical's making-of documentary, which was released as ''Golden Eighties'' in the United States.

Reception

''Golden Eighties'' enjoyed modest success in Belgium and France. In a 1992 review for ''The New York Times'', critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

called it "an unpretentious, absolutely charming romantic comedy-with-music, the small scale of which perfectly suits the passions of its characters".

References

External links

* {{Pascal Bonitzer 1986 films 1986 comedy films 1980s French films 1980s French-language films 1980s musical comedy films Belgian musical comedy films Films directed by Chantal Akerman Films set in shopping malls French musical comedy films French-language Belgian films French-language Swiss films Swiss musical comedy films Workplace comedy films Films with screenplays by Pascal Bonitzer 1986 musical films French-language musical comedy films