To possess the consciousness of a woman and experience life in her body is no blessing for Chanta... more To possess the consciousness of a woman and experience life in her body is no blessing for Chantal Akerman’s characters, who are not liberated women, but women imprisoned in time and space. The passage of time is a source of anxiety for those getting older; the gaze of others, a source of pain. The focus of her work is on the quotidian (or “everyday”), wherein she reveals unseen beauty as well as quiet sources of discomfort. While Akerman is often credited with elevating the private lives of women, rarely do critics describe her work as an infringement on privacy. The lens she directs at her female subjects is not always meant to flatter, and frequently tiptoes between revealing what’s deeply personal and what’s confidential. At the same time, a number of her films invite viewers to enjoy themselves and manage to present painful truths about the lives of women in a way that’s not merely bearable, but breathtaking. Akerman’s most significant contribution to the cinema, perhaps, is her conception of a style of filmmaking that’s entirely her own, as opposed to one that conforms to the patriarchal rules that govern most narrative fiction film.
To possess the consciousness of a woman and experience life in her body is no blessing for Chanta... more To possess the consciousness of a woman and experience life in her body is no blessing for Chantal Akerman’s characters, who are not liberated women, but women imprisoned in time and space. The passage of time is a source of anxiety for those getting older; the gaze of others, a source of pain. The focus of her work is on the quotidian (or “everyday”), wherein she reveals unseen beauty as well as quiet sources of discomfort. While Akerman is often credited with elevating the private lives of women, rarely do critics describe her work as an infringement on privacy. The lens she directs at her female subjects is not always meant to flatter, and frequently tiptoes between revealing what’s deeply personal and what’s confidential. At the same time, a number of her films invite viewers to enjoy themselves and manage to present painful truths about the lives of women in a way that’s not merely bearable, but breathtaking. Akerman’s most significant contribution to the cinema, perhaps, is her conception of a style of filmmaking that’s entirely her own, as opposed to one that conforms to the patriarchal rules that govern most narrative fiction film.
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