d'est...

Last week monday we had the opportunity to view the highly critically acclaimed film D'est from Chantal Akerman. Not having heard of this film before and hearing that it has a feature film length intrigued me right away as to what could an experimental filmer want to relay to it's audience that could hold it's attention for as long a time as "D'est" runs without any formidable plotline, characters....etc. one of the opening scenes of a man sitting on a street bench, a person who appears physically expended, waiting, for what is unclear yet....but as the film develops, we are introduced to at first mostly barren landscapes, which wouldn't have been nearly as powerful without the addition of the cars intertwining through even the most remote of areas. this driving by of cars relays a sense of time to me that the images without the cars couldn't have accomplished. The film progresses to several locations, but all of the locations offer the same unifying messages of a land that has been locked in slumber, a people that has been sedated. weaving in and out of these scenes of this society bracing itself for the immient changes to come, are vignettes of the camera suddenly immersed in a particular house, focused on a particular person or small group. throughout these particular scenes, the subjects give off a very robotic persona, showing little emotion, but there is an unconcious sense of the emptiness that accompanies every subject, also I felt a strong sense of resentment among the people being captured, i felt extremely awkward having to sit through a 1 minute image of a stone-faced woman staring at me in her house, i feel unwelcome, i feel as if i'm a stranger, unaware of what these subjects have truly been through, and the eyes of every subject tells me "if only you knew what i've gone through". I believe these vignettes symbolize Akermans message of "yes, i am a soverign person, i am an individual, i deserve my privacy and i want the government and the rest of society out of it." The long panning shots of people at various locations centralized on a feeling of prolonged waiting, coldness, and i believe it's important that Akerman never shows anyone actually reaching there destination, letting the viewer understand that the struggles of this society are far from over, despite the recent fall of the Soviet Union. this film was very enjoyable :)