"D'Est"

I have mixed feelings about the feature film we saw on Monday. "D'Est" by Chantal Akerman began with an interesting "people watching" feel. Being a "people watcher" myself, I enjoyed watching the rolls of different people walking around the city. It felt like I could be right there, just observing(one of my favorite activities). After many of these similar scenes, the weather seemed to get colder and with that, the mood of the film changed. We started to see people alone in their homes. Some of these people were either sitting and starring or performing a meaningless act like putting on lipstick or clipping toenails. Usually, the people were all alone. The people watching just became depressing at this point. It seems like the shots jumped from groups of people to one person sitting at home alone. I felt like we visited every home and scene in the Soviet Union, each one more depressing than the last. I distinctly remember two different women sitting at home alone with a cup of coffee/tea, just starring. The only happiness I saw was the scene of the boys sledding. The shot of the people waiting outside and at the train station caught my eye because everyone just seemed unhappy to be there. I wondered if the people in the crowd were informed of the camera because everyone just sat and starred in awe. They looked at the camera as if it were an alien. Maybe they were instructed to do so. Some looked embarrassed and uneasy, few giggled uncomfortably. The film ended with a woman playing a sad song on stage. I don't know what to think of this. Maybe a perfect ending for this kind of film. I wonder if Akerman had the intent of making a piece with such a low mood. If a similar film was shot in America, would it be at all different and more uplifting? Probably not. "D'Est" left me depressed.