The radical notion that women like good movies
Written by Rachel Redfern I love films that have unsympathetic characters; Unsympathetic characters just buck the traditions of stereotype and pull in far more complicated personalities and situations. Butter, a 2012 film by Jim Field Smith, is unexpectedly about the lives of three very different women, two of whom are fairly unpleasant people. I hadn’t … Continue reading “Strippers and Republicans: Political Satire in ‘Butter’”
Written by Max Thornton, this review previously appeared at Bitch Flicks on June 26, 2012. Céline Sciamma’s films are ever so French. Light on dialogue, they tend to rely on lingering shots of longing glances and exquisite mise-en-scène to reveal character; loosely plotted, they leave the impression less of a story than of a series … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: Growing Up Queer: ‘Water Lilies’ (2007) and ‘Tomboy’ (2011)”
Guest post written by Nadia Barbu. In the 1960’s and 70’s, the regime of Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was considered one of the more liberal in the European Soviet block, and maintained diplomatic relations with Western countries (US President Richard Nixon visited him twice; the Queen of England bestowed upon him a knighthood). Of … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: The Accidental Feminism of ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’”
Guest post written by Candice Frederick, originally published at Reel Talk. Cross-posted with permission. At its core, there’s something very interesting about the small yet much buzzed about French film, De rouille et d’os, which is translated in English as Rust and Bone. Its off kilter premise, which follows the extraordinary love story of an … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: A Failed Attempt at Feminism Impedes ‘Rust and Bone’”
Written by Leigh Kolb [Trigger warning: references to graphic content.] Sometimes feminist films succeed by showing just how awful a world without feminism is. Dušan Makavejev’s WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971) and Sweet Movie (1974) provide that kind of jarring commentary. Both of these films critique fascism, communism, capitalism and sexual repression. His films are part of the … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: The Disturbing, Terrorizing Feminism of Dušan Makavejev’s ‘WR: Mysteries of the Organism’ and ‘Sweet Movie’”
Isabelle Huppert stars in Gabrielle Guest post written by Amanda Civitello Gabrielle is a beautifully complex film, the kind of movie that begs to be watched with attention. Starring the unparalleled Isabelle Huppert and Pascal Greggory, who each deliver spellbinding performances, and based on the short story “The Return” by Joseph Conrad, Gabrielle tells the … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: As a Collector Loves His Most Prized Item: ‘Gabrielle’ (2005)”
Les demoiselles de Rochefort (1967) Guest post written by Lou Flandrin. This masterpiece by Jacques Demy is definitely the most important movie of my childhood. Part of it is probably due to the hours I spent listening to the cheerful singing while going away on vacation with my family. Singing in the car is the … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: Growing Up with ‘Les Demoiselles de Rochefort’”
Written by Leigh Kolb Hiroshima mon amour debuted in 1959, 14 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed. Alain Resnais’ first feature film explores memory, forgetting and tragedy on an individual and worldwide scale, largely through the lens of Elle (“Her”), played by Emmanuelle Riva. While Resnais had signed on to do a documentary about the atomic bomb, … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: Remembering, Forgetting and Breaking Through in the Female Narrative of ‘Hiroshima mon amour’”
Guest post written by Katherine Filaseta. It is no secret that India has problems when it comes to the status of women. Everyone heard about the gang rape in Delhi in December 2012; it was broadcast in America so much that some people didn’t even know about the events in Steubenville, but knew all about … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: Sexism in Three of Bollywood’s Most Popular Films”
Written by Max Thornton. I started getting into film when I was a teenager. Growing up with daily power cuts, both scheduled and unscheduled, is not conducive to childhood as a cinephile, and anyway my parents did not consider film a “real” art like literature or music – I can vividly remember being forced, at … Continue reading “Foreign Film Week: Red, Blue, and Giallo: Dario Argento’s "Suspiria"”
Written by Lady T. Are you watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries? You should really watch The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. This modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is charming, funny, moving, and a total trip down the rabbit hole once you devote just a few minutes of your time watching the first episode. Here is … Continue reading “5 Reasons You Should Be Watching "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries"”
Written by Rachel Redfern Terence Davies’ 2011 film, The Deep Blue Sea, is based off the 1952 Terence Rattigan play of the same name and while it wouldn’t pass the Bechdel test, it is a film full substantive consideration, both strengths and flaws, of its female character; the film’s main premise hinges on the choices … Continue reading “Lust, Love, Duty, Sex: Female Experience in ‘The Deep Blue Sea’”
