Golden Eighties
1986
Film, 01:36:00.
Materials:
Golden Eighties takes place entirely in the Brussels Toison d'Or shopping gallery. On one side is Lili's hair salon, on the other side, Monsieur Schwartz and his wife Jeanne's clothing boutique. Their son Robert fancies Lili, the Madonna-lookalike, who shamelessly hops between him and a hopelessly besotted gangster. And, to boot, one of Lili's girls, Mado, has a crush on Robert. Then Jeanne's American lover from long ago turns up...
No one had ever expected a musical from Akerman, but Golden Eighties is exactly that, and moreover, it's a loving homage to the old MGM dance movies and to Jacques Demy's Les parapluies de Cherbourg, bright candy colours included. The lyrics of the songs (written by Akerman herself) are a commentary on - and an emotional balance for - the small melodramas that play out in the gallery.
This film can be seen on April 20th at 20:00 in Cinema Zuid.