about alienation

jeanne dielman was considered a feminist film, but that was not my goal when i made it. my goal at the time was to show someone who organizes her life so that there is no hole in her time, because when there is a hole, there is also anxiety. i could have done that same film about a man, except that i was more interested in showing a woman's everyday gestures. i don't think it was feminist in the sense that many people have said - at least, a film about alienation because of gender was not my goal. maybe the film became that, but for me, jeanne dielman... was an act of love for those gestures that you see when you're a child, that you are surrounded by as a child. in a way, the repetition of those gestures is very good for a child.

interview with chantal akerman found in scott macdonald's a critical cinema 4 - university of california press - 2005