Jeune femme à sa fenêtre lisant une lettre

JeanClaude Rousseaus Jeune femme à sa fenêtre lisant une lettre is not only his first mediumlength film but a chance to discover this filmmaker whom JeanMarie Straub has called along with Frans Van de Staak and Peter Nestler the greatest working in Europe With this newly restored print there is also a possibility to discover the relationship between Rousseaus art of filming and Jan Vermeers famous painting As Prosper Hillairet wrote in 1988 four years after Rousseau had finished Jeune femme for the first time as we know today Without adopting the usual systematic spirit and form of cinéma structurel Rousseau presents us with simple images and leaves it at that Keeps the image in hand A minimalist and ascetic expression of cinema a shot that lasts