Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Synopsis:
In a shopping street, customers and shop girls cross paths and meet daily in Lili’s hair salon, in the ready-to-wear boutique of the Schwartz family, or at Sylvie's bar. They all dream of love: forbidden love, epistolary love, impossible love... They talk about it, sing about it, and dance to the rhythm of the choir of shampoo girls.
An outstanding ensemble cast, including Delphine Seyrig and 1980s pop star Lio, glides through the shopping arcade in a finely choreographed sequence, to the tunes of an infectious pop soundtrack. Akerman herself wrote the lyrics for the deceptively cheerful songs and constantly misleads the viewer: is this film truly an ironic critique of the hyper-commercial 1980s or rather a loving reflection on everyday life? Akerman fully indulged in the sound design for this film, which is packed with small but meaningful discoveries: from the click of high heels on the floor to the unwelcome sound of a zipper, to the ever-changing tone and volume of the many conversations and songs.
Golden Eighties was restored in 2024 by the Royal Belgian Film Archive - CINEMATEK and L'Immagine Ritrovata (Bologna), in collaboration with the Fondation Chantal Akerman with the assistance of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and the valuable support of Leora Barish, Henry Bean, Ostrovsky Family Fund (OFF), SWA.
This restoration was carried out based on the 35mm negatives from the collections of the Royal Belgian Film Archive, where the film was digitized in 4K. The image restoration was performed in the laboratory of L'Immagine Ritrovata under the supervision of cinematographer Luc Benhamou. The sound was restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata based on the original mix.
Synopsis:
In a shopping street, customers and shop girls cross paths and meet daily in Lili’s hair salon, in the ready-to-wear boutique of the Schwartz family, or at Sylvie's bar. They all dream of love: forbidden love, epistolary love, impossible love... They talk about it, sing about it, and dance to the rhythm of the choir of shampoo girls.
An outstanding ensemble cast, including Delphine Seyrig and 1980s pop star Lio, glides through the shopping arcade in a finely choreographed sequence, to the tunes of an infectious pop soundtrack. Akerman herself wrote the lyrics for the deceptively cheerful songs and constantly misleads the viewer: is this film truly an ironic critique of the hyper-commercial 1980s or rather a loving reflection on everyday life? Akerman fully indulged in the sound design for this film, which is packed with small but meaningful discoveries: from the click of high heels on the floor to the unwelcome sound of a zipper, to the ever-changing tone and volume of the many conversations and songs.
Golden Eighties was restored in 2024 by the Royal Belgian Film Archive - CINEMATEK and L'Immagine Ritrovata (Bologna), in collaboration with the Fondation Chantal Akerman with the assistance of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and the valuable support of Leora Barish, Henry Bean, Ostrovsky Family Fund (OFF), SWA.
This restoration was carried out based on the 35mm negatives from the collections of the Royal Belgian Film Archive, where the film was digitized in 4K. The image restoration was performed in the laboratory of L'Immagine Ritrovata under the supervision of cinematographer Luc Benhamou. The sound was restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata based on the original mix.
![TRAILER Des morts [Of the Dead] (Thierry Zéno, BE 1979)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DYAq6YmI6dc/mqdefault.jpg "TRAILER Des morts [Of the Dead] (Thierry Zéno, BE 1979)
Thierry Zéno is a forerunner in the history of Belgian cinema, both in terms of international recognition and in terms of brilliant craftsmanship and absolute daring. His 3 first films - Vase de noces, Des morts & Bouche sans fond ouverte sur les horizons - are the cornerstones of his later work. They have been carefully restored by CINEMATEK (Royal Belgian Film Archive).
For the first time since their release, these 3 films are available on DVD in pristine condition. The DVD is published in collaboration with the CINEMATHÈQUE DE LA FÉDÉRATION WALLONIE-BRUXELLES.")
