The Man with the Suitcase

Chantal Akerman's quirky apartment comedy 'The Man with the Suitcase' lasts just over an hour and has some of the same lightness and precision as an early Chaplin or Lubitsch film. Akerman plays a variation of herself: A young woman returns home after several months of travel and discovers that the man who borrowed the apartment has not yet moved out. He's kind and cheerful -- and utterly unbearable as a roommate. To avoid him, Akerman's character begins to reorganize the entire apartment and build herself a small work den so that she can have peace. But it's no use: Toilet flushes, foot steps and the sounds of the roommate's daily activities constantly penetrate. The more she tries to isolate herself from him, the more absurd her life becomes. How long can this go on?

Director: Chantal Akerman
Starring: Chantal Akerman, Jeffrey Kime
Country/year: France, 1984
Running time: 60 min.
Formato: DCP
Language: English subtitles
Age limit: Allowed for children over 15
Original title: L'homme à la valise

Part of the series: Chantal Akerman's fictions
Chantal Akerman was one of the most form-conscious and innovative filmmakers of her generation. Her fiction films range from melodrama and musical to romantic comedy and radically concentrated chamber plays and testify to an incredible curiosity to explore the possibilities of fiction.