MdW – Movies directed by Women
MdW (visual) movie rating
Good personages, direction, and images (8)
Excellent humor and content (9)
Top dialogues (10)
Hats off to Mindy Kaling for a good story and excellent dialogues!
Great cast!
Cast: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow, Reid Scott, Amy Ryan, Denis O’Hare, Hugh Dancy, Max Casella, Ike Barinholtz
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Writer: Mindy Kaling
Cinematographer: Matthew Clark
Editor: Eleanor Infante, David Rogers
Composer: Lesley Barber
Good script, personages, dialogues, humor
Excellent direction, images, music
Intricate love relationships between a man and a woman as a couple, between two sisters, between a daughter and her father, between a teenager during her first kiss… Many facets, few certitudes…
A very dynamic direction with a Godard touch … and a subtle sense of humor!
““The Last Days of Chez Nous” is a drama, and so none of the characters play their expected parts, and what we get is astonishing: movie characters who think for themselves.” [Roger Ebert]
Cast: Lisa Harrow, Bruno Ganz, Kerry Fox
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Writer: Helen Garner
Music by Paul Grabowsky
Cinematography by Geoffrey Simpson
Film Editing by Nicholas Beauman
Good script, direction, images, dialogues (8) Excellent personages (9)
Top score: minorities (10)
Surprising!
Cast: Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk
Director: Allison Anders
Writers: Richard Peck (novel), Allison Anders (screenplay)
Music by J. Mascis
Cinematography by Dean Lent
Film Editing by Tracy Granger
Good script, dialogues, humor, images, music
Excellent personages, direction
Top score: gender (10)
A young woman who leads a promiscuous life like her father that she emulates feels suddenly lost and abandoned when her father falls in love
An impressive debut over the meaning of love
Great score, and a “stunning, star-making performance, which, in one striking close-up after another, sharply captures the fear and pain of having to let go and grow up.”
“Polak’s episodic tale has a dreaminess marked by shots that drift in and out of focus to convey Hemel’s retreat from real feeling into vulgar sex talk, or tilt from right to left on a fixed axis to suggest that she’s careening out of control.” [Nick Schager]
Cast: Hannah Hoekstra, Hans Dagelet, Rifka Lodeizen
Director: Sacha Polak
Writer: Helena van der Meulen (screenplay)
Cinematography by Daniël Bouquet
Film Editing by Axel Skovdal Roelofs
Good script, personages, dialogues (8)
Excellent direction, images, music (9)
A very original movie (renews the western genre), a great work of art! (but not recommended for sensitive people)
Cast: Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Jim Carrey
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Writer: Ana Lily Amirpour
Cinematographer: Lyle Vincent
Editor: Alex O’Flinn
Good dialogues, humor, images (8)
Excellent music (9)
Top direction (10)
An unglamorous Bonnie & Clyde born out of boredom: “the more time they spend together, the more painfully clear it becomes that they’re not in love, no crime has been committed, and new horizons hardly beckon.” [James Latimer]
Fantastic filming
Cast: Lisa Bowman, Larry Fessenden, Michael Buscemi, Greg Schroeder, Santo Fazio, Dick Russell, Sheila Korsi
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writer: Kelly Reichardt, Jesse Hartman
Cinematographer: Jim Denault
Editor: Larry Fessenden
Composer: John Hill
Top score: minorities, message (10)
Coming of age? This movie puts it the other way around, as Summer, a 16-year-old girl, wants to fulfill her (contagious) desire to discover the world around her and experience religion (Islam), dance, sex, and everything that triggers her interest. After the necessary clashes, parents and peers eventually support her, understanding that the freedom that is paramount to her age cannot tolerate any compromise. Whose coming of age is it, thus?
Khalil Gibran’s poetic image – children are arrows that parents shoot and have then to follow – comes to mind. Young people show us the way! Today, this could be our new reality: think about Greta Grünberg and many others in Hong-Kong and elsewhere… I love it!
The songs are great, but the constant (and unnecessary) ‘atmosphere’ music deprives the movie of some of its sharpness
Great acting by Zoe Renee: “Renee and Missick’s performances are so remarkable and the story is so compelling, I left the movie with a new feeling: hope that audiences watching this movie may be more empathetic towards others’ life changes.” [Monica Castillo]
Cast: Zoe Renee, Simone Missick, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Dorian Missick, Hisham Tawfiq, Kelly Jenrette, Ashlei Foushee, Damien D. Smith, Maya Morales
Director: Nijla Mu’min
Writer: Nijla Mu’min
Cinematographer: Bruce Francis Cole
Editor: Collin Kriner
Composer: Jesi Nelson
Top score: minorities (10)
In her first feature A Soap, a woman has a relationship with a transgender. In this second feature, a woman who owns a dance school has a relationship with a man who just came out of prison, having served a sentence for a rape that he says he did not commit.
The question that the mother asks defines this movie as the preceding one: “How does one love someone like that?” The personage of the dominant mother announces the next feature A Family.
Cast: Trine Dyrholm, Anders W. Berthelsen, Micki Chow, Sofia Cukic
Director: Pernille Fischer Christensen
Writers: Pernille Fischer Christensen, Kim Fupz Aakeson
Music by Adam Nordén
Cinematography by Sebastian Blenkov
Film Editing by Åsa Mossberg
Top score: direction, images, music (10)
A simple story of jealousy set in the extra-ordinary daily life of a foreign legion commando. Impressive direction, very interesting score
Cast: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin
Director: Claire Denis
Writers: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Music by Charles Henri de Pierrefeu, Eran Zur
Cinematography by Agnès Godard
Film Editing by Nelly Quettier
Top score: music (10)
Complex movie with no clear-cut line to help you find your way through its multiple layers / complexity enhanced by the very special touch of Helle le Fevre
Houses and locations (not to mention distribution of space) play an important role in Joanna Hogg’s work: a Tuscan villa in Unrelated, a Cornwall cottage in Archipelago, a modern architectural house in London.
Excellent work on image, sound, content
Cast: Viv Albertine, Liam Gillick, Tom Hiddleston
Director: Joanna Hogg
Writers: Joanna Hogg
Cinematography by Ed Rutherford
Film Editing by Helle le Fevre
Top score: gender, message (10)
Two women who have been raped by the same serial rapist meet years later and try to come to term with the past.
Invisible shows the lack of recognition victims of a traumatic events experience: all the attention – in the media, the justice system, etc. – goes to perpetrators, and none to the victims – a systematic attitude that New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has courageously confronted after the Christchurch attack…
Cast: Evgenia Dodina, Ronit Elkabetz, Sivan Levy
Director: Michal Aviad
Writers: Michal Aviad, Omer Tal
Cinematography by Guy Raz
Film Editing by Era Lapid
Top score: message (10)
A complex story in which the personages who seem to be victims are responsible and those who seem to be responsible might just be victims
Almost exclusively filmed in the wilderness
The Norwegian title ‘Uskyld’ means “innocence”
Cast: Maria Bonnevie, Inga Berger Schou, Tea Sandanger
Director: Sara Johnsen
Writer: Sara Johnsen
Music by Fernando Velázquez
Cinematography by John Andreas Andersen
Film Editing by Zaklina Stojcevska
Top: gender (10)
Excellent movie showing different facets of child abuse
Cast: Malou Reymann, Stephanie Leon, Julie Grundtvig Wester
Director: Hella Joof
Writers: Ida Maria Rydén, Hella Joof
Music by Povl Kristian
Cinematography by Kim Høgh
Film Editing by Cathrine Ambus
Very good movie about the bias with which men consider(ed?) female sexuality
Good cast, subtle script.
The film could have done without the flashback at the beginning and at the end
Cast: Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, John Heard, Diane Ladd, Lukas Haas
Directed by Martha Coolidge
Writers: Calder Willingham
Photographed by Johnny E. Jensen
Edited by Steve Cohen
Music by Elmer Bernstein
When all the men of the village have been taken away (for political reasons), the women have to learn to survive on their own… A beautiful story about love, desire, and solidarity
Cast: Pauline Burlet, Géraldine Pailhas, Alban Lenoir
Director: Marine Francen
Writers: Marine Francen, Jacqueline Surchat, Jacques Fieschi
Music by Frédéric Vercheval
Cinematography by Alain Duplantier
Film Editing by Minori Akimoto
Top score: music (10)
Complex movie with no clear-cut line to help you find your way through its multiple layers / complexity enhanced by the very special touch of Helle le Fevre
Houses and locations (not to mention distribution of space) play an important role in Joanna Hogg’s work: a Tuscan villa in Unrelated, a Cornwall cottage in Archipelago, a modern architectural house in London.
Excellent work on image, sound, content
Cast: Viv Albertine, Liam Gillick, Tom Hiddleston
Director: Joanna Hogg
Writers: Joanna Hogg
Cinematography by Ed Rutherford
Film Editing by Helle le Fevre
minorities 10
good acting, strong script and direction
Cast: Sophie Marceau, Marie-Sohna Condé, Marie Denarnaud
Director: Audrey Estrougo
Writers: Agnès Caffin, Audrey Estrougo
Music by James Edjouma
Cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman
Film Editing by Céline Cloarec
personages/direction/images 9
Again a true story, again a baby girl taken away from her mother, again a story from childhood to adulthood in an estranged environment… and in both cases, Sherry Hormann provides a climatic ending
Great acting!
Cast: Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Thure Lindhardt, Amelia Pidgeon, Trine Dyrholm
Director: Sherry Hormann
Writers: Ruth Toma, Bernd Eichinger, Natascha Kampusch
Music by Martin Todsharow
Cinematography by Michael Ballhaus
gender/minorities/message 10
Excellent direction of this poignant and soberly told story
The script could have brought us closer to the influence female genital mutilation has on a girl/woman emotional life
BEWARE: Some very disturbing scenes
Cast: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson, Craig Parkinson, Anthony Mackie
Written and directed by Sherry Hormann
Music by Martin Todsharow
Cinematography by Ken Kelsch
Film Editing by Clara Fabry
A good comedy about homosexuality / lots of humor, great music
Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Clea Duvall, Cathy Moriarty, Rupaul Charles, Michelle Williams
Directed by Jamie Babbit
Written by Brian Wayne Peterson
Music by Pat Irwin
Cinematography by Jules Labarthe
Film Editing by Cecily Rhett
Impressive first feature combining drama and comedy, depth and spontaneity; fantastic acting by Winstead
“Vives (and Winstead) really understand this prickly armored woman, a woman who weeps with sadness after a great night, whose anger isn’t obliterated magically by the possibility of joy. “All About Nina” understands that happiness can be extremely stressful. If you’re unused to happiness, you don’t know what to do with it. You may, in fact, deliberately torch it, just so you can get back to the misery that is familiar. Not too many films—really, not too many people—understand this dynamic.” [Sheila O’Malley]
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Common, Chace Crawford, Clea Duvall, Kate del Castillo, Beau Bridges
Director: Eva Vives
Writer: Eva Vives
Cinematographer: Thomas Scott Stanton
Editor: Saira Haider, Susan Littenberg
Composer: John Dragonetti
Unpretentious, great acting, a dizzying but expressive camera work
Riveting!
Cast: Saskia Rosendahl, Kai Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi, Andre Frid
Director: Cate Shortland
Screenplay by Cate Shortland, Robin Mukherjee
Music by Max Richter
Cinematography by Adam Arkapaw
Film Editing by Veronika Jenet
As in her preceding movies, 2 personages – a girl and a dog – and a car try to get somewhere but get stuck on the way.
Great movie based on a simple but very effective script.
“Kelly Reichardt’s “Wendy and Lucy” is another illustration of how absorbing a film can be when the plot doesn’t stand between us and a character.” [Roger Ebert]
Cast: Michelle Williams, Will Patton, Will Oldham, John Robinson
Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Written by Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt
Cinematography by Sam Levy
Film Editing by Kelly Reichardt
An unglamorous Bonnie & Clyde born out of boredom: “the more time they spend together, the more painfully clear it becomes that they’re not in love, no crime has been committed, and new horizons hardly beckon.” [James Latimer]
Fantastic filming
Cast: Lisa Bowman, Larry Fessenden, Michael Buscemi, Greg Schroeder, Santo Fazio, Dick Russell, Sheila Korsi
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writer: Kelly Reichardt, Jesse Hartman
Cinematographer: Jim Denault
Editor: Larry Fessenden
Composer: John Hill
As in Lea Pool’s later movies, the relationship mother-daughter is a central theme, shown as a key element to the development of the child, while the fatherly figure is depicted as a loser and a source of conflict / Excellent acting
Cast: Karine Vanasse, Alexandre Merineau, Pascale Bussieres, Miki Manojlovic, Charlotte Christeler, Nancy Huston
Written and Directed by Lea Pool
Music by Robyn Schulkowsky
Cinematography by Jeanne Lapoirie
Film Editing by Michel Arcand
The difficulties that a young Afghani girl encounters when she decides to go to school
In their games the children mimic the sad world of their parents and reveal its absurdity
It is extraordinary how much this director is able to suggest with very little means: a notebook and a lipstick in the hands of a little girl are sufficient to summarize the feminine condition!
Excellent debut!
Cast: Abbas Alijome, Abdolali Hoseinali, Nikbakht Noruz
Director: Hana Makhmalbaf
Writer: Marzieh Makhmalbaf (as Marzieh Meshkini)
Music by Tolibhon Shakhidi
Cinematography by Ostad Ali
Film Editing by Mastaneh Mohajer
In a land where children are used as mules to carry stolen goods across the border, a group of teachers tries to find pupils. But all the inhabitants of these mountain villages refuse, saying that learning to write and to read is useless
A seemingly extremely simple movie full of deep resonances
“The stripped-down dramatic constructs, austere imagery and abstract characters are equal parts poetry and politics, obvious at times but evocative and heartfelt.” [Sean Axmaker]
[Duane Dudek] “A stark metaphor about diasporic people wandering aimlessly through rocky, desolate terrain, buffeted by unseen forces beyond their control” in which education and the hope for a better life it brings has no place
Cast: Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari, Bahman Ghobadi
Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
Writers: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Samira Makhmalbaf
Music by Mohammad Reza Darvishi
Cinematography by Ebrahim Ghafori
Film Editing by Mohsen Makhmalbaf
An inspiring movie with a strong message, highly needed as the notions of truth and equality are being sullied and corrupted all around us!
Cast: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates, Sam Waterston
Director: Mimi Leder
Writer: Daniel Stiepleman
Cinematographer: Michael Grady
Editor: Michelle Tesoro
Composer: Mychael Danna
Beside the deliciously subtle coming of age story, we get a good glimpse of the French society in the beginning of the 60’s. The first cracks that will lead to the 1968 revolution are already showing.
Cast: Eléonore Klarwein, Odile Michel, Anouk Ferjac
Director: Diane Kurys
Writers: Diane Kurys, Alain Le Henry
Music by Yves Simon
Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot
Film Editing by Joële Van Effenterre
To escape a German internment camp during the war, a woman accept to marry a man she has never seen before. This marriage through which she acquires her freedom will become her prison after the war. She decides to divorce her husband and, with her two daughter – the oldest being the author – she moves to Paris where she meets another women. Attracted to each other, the two women will have to fight to gain their liberty.
These themes are a constant aspect of this author’s work.
The excellent script brings us through the changes that occur in the society and in the life of the personages in parallel.
Cast: Miou-Miou, Isabelle Huppert, Guy Marchand, Jean-Pierre Bacri
Written and directed by Diane Kurys
Produced by Ariel Zeitoun
Photographed by Bernard Lutic
Music by Luis Bacalov
Film Editing by Joële Van Effenterre
Excellent acting in a finely-tuned story about the life and relationships of a middle-aged divorced mother
Cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Ben Falcone, Toni Collette, Amy Landecker, Michaela Watkins
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Writer: Nicole Holofcener
Music by Marcelo Zarvos
Cinematography by Xavier Grobet
Film Editing by Robert Frazen
This sober but intense movie contrasts the inhumane landscapes of Alberta (Canada) with the survival drive of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease.
Fantastic photography of these unforgivable landscapes in which nothing good can happen, in which life cannot be but a struggle and death’s a part of everyday life: you wouldn’t know you’re on planet earth!
Extraordinary performance by Shirley Henderson: “She pulls off the most difficult and effective illusion of all, which is to make it look as if she’s living through what she’s acting. This is not the sort of screen acting that wins awards, I fear—it’s too subtle. But if you don’t treat yourself to this movie, you will indeed be missing out on one of the best pieces of acting 2018 cinema has to offer.” [Glenn Kenny]
Cast: Shirley Henderson, Théodore Pellerin, Mary Galloway, Nicholas Campbell, Jared Abrahamson, Hugo Ateo
Director: Kathleen Hepburn
Writer: Kathleen Hepburn
Music by Ben Fox
Cinematography by Norm Li
Film Editing by Simone Smith
A young woman has to break away from a lifelong but toxic friendship
Consistent personages and well-handled plot, but the musical choice is at times obnoxious (see The Governess)
As in her first feature, Jewish identity and high education characterize Goldbacher’s female lead.
Cast: Anna Friel, Michelle Williams, Oliver Milburn, Kyle MacLachlan, Trudie Styler, Marianne Denicourt
Directed by Sandra Goldbacher
Written by Laurence Coriat, Sandra Goldbacher
Music by Adrian Johnston, Amy Odell
Cinematography by Denis Crossan
Film Editing by Michael Ellis
A simple story of jealousy set in the extra-ordinary daily life of a foreign legion commando. Impressive direction, very interesting score
Cast: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin
Director: Claire Denis
Writers: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Music by Charles Henri de Pierrefeu, Eran Zur
Cinematography by Agnès Godard
Film Editing by Nelly Quettier
A very well-made movie with a strong script that brings you inside the mind of a young Jewish girl who finds it difficult to get married to the husband of her deceased sister, according to the Biblical tradition.
Though it might not be your gender roles idealization – a woman is nothing if she’s not married – you will surely gain an anthropological and intimate insight in the complex relationship between men and women in a Jewish ultra-orthodox community, which might counterbalance the absence of any critical statement.
Cast: Hadas Yaron, Renana Raz, Yiftach Klein, Irit Sheleg
Director: Rama Burshtein
Screenplay: Rama Burshtein
Music by Yitzhak Azulay
Cinematography by Asaf Sudri
Film Editing by Sharon Elovic
A woman tries to make sense of the chaos in her life
Fantastic acting, a thoroughly chosen cast, an almost continuous humorous undercurrent, a fine, underrated comedy
Cast: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Chiara Mastroianni, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Director: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Writers: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Noémie Lvovsky, Agnès de Sacy
Cinematography by Jeanne Lapoirie
Film Editing by Anne Weil
Script at times old fashioned/melodramatic, but such a pleasurable direction and great acting!
The contrast between young Amy and old Amy shows how talented Kirsten Dunst was!
Cast: Winona Ryder, Gabriel Byrne, Trini Alvarado, Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Written by Robin Swicord
Based On The Book by Louisa May Alcott
Photographed by Geoffrey Simpson
Edited by Nicholas Beauman
Music by Thomas Newman
Intricate love relationships between a man and a woman as a couple, between two sisters, between a daughter and her father, between a teenager during her first kiss… Many facets, few certitudes…
A very dynamic direction with a Godard touch … and a subtle sense of humor!
““The Last Days of Chez Nous” is a drama, and so none of the characters play their expected parts, and what we get is astonishing: movie characters who think for themselves.” [Roger Ebert]
Cast: Lisa Harrow, Bruno Ganz, Kerry Fox
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Writer: Helen Garner
Music by Paul Grabowsky
Cinematography by Geoffrey Simpson
Film Editing by Nicholas Beauman
A simple story with a profound and multi-faceted message
A very exceptional insight on women’s life and expectations in Saudi Arabia
Cast: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman Al Gohani
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Writer: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Music by Max Richter
Cinematography by Lutz Reitemeier
Film Editing by Andreas Wodraschke
A simple story of jealousy set in the extra-ordinary daily life of a foreign legion commando. Impressive direction, very interesting score
Cast: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin
Director: Claire Denis
Writers: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Music by Charles Henri de Pierrefeu, Eran Zur
Cinematography by Agnès Godard
Film Editing by Nelly Quettier
An inspiring movie with a strong message, highly needed as the notions of truth and equality are being sullied and corrupted all around us!
Cast: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates, Sam Waterston
Director: Mimi Leder
Writer: Daniel Stiepleman
Cinematographer: Michael Grady
Editor: Michelle Tesoro
Composer: Mychael Danna
A woman tries to make sense of the chaos in her life
Fantastic acting, a thoroughly chosen cast, an almost continuous humorous undercurrent, a fine, underrated comedy
Cast: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Chiara Mastroianni, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Director: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Writers: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Noémie Lvovsky, Agnès de Sacy
Cinematography by Jeanne Lapoirie
Film Editing by Anne Weil
Beside the deliciously subtle coming of age story, we get a good glimpse of the French society in the beginning of the 60’s. The first cracks that will lead to the 1968 revolution are already showing.
Cast: Eléonore Klarwein, Odile Michel, Anouk Ferjac
Director: Diane Kurys
Writers: Diane Kurys, Alain Le Henry
Music by Yves Simon
Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot
Film Editing by Joële Van Effenterre
To escape a German internment camp during the war, a woman accept to marry a man she has never seen before. This marriage through which she acquires her freedom will become her prison after the war. She decides to divorce her husband and, with her two daughter – the oldest being the author – she moves to Paris where she meets another women. Attracted to each other, the two women will have to fight to gain their liberty.
These themes are a constant aspect of this author’s work.
The excellent script brings us through the changes that occur in the society and in the life of the personages in parallel.
Cast: Miou-Miou, Isabelle Huppert, Guy Marchand, Jean-Pierre Bacri
Written and directed by Diane Kurys
Produced by Ariel Zeitoun
Photographed by Bernard Lutic
Music by Luis Bacalov
Film Editing by Joële Van Effenterre
The passionate love story between two most venerated writers of their time, George Sand – I am a writer, not a woman who writes – and Alfred de Musset
A historical drama with themes close to the other works by Diane Kurys
Great acting and excellent dialogues
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Benoît Magimel, Stefano Dionisi
Director: Diane Kurys
Writers: Murray Head, Diane Kurys
Music by Luis Bacalov
Cinematography by Vilko Filac
Film Editing by Joële Van Effenterre
A very well-made movie with a strong script that brings you inside the mind of a young Jewish girl who finds it difficult to get married to the husband of her deceased sister, according to the Biblical tradition.
Though it might not be your gender roles idealization – a woman is nothing if she’s not married – you will surely gain an anthropological and intimate insight in the complex relationship between men and women in a Jewish ultra-orthodox community, which might counterbalance the absence of any critical statement.
Cast: Hadas Yaron, Renana Raz, Yiftach Klein, Irit Sheleg
Director: Rama Burshtein
Screenplay: Rama Burshtein
Music by Yitzhak Azulay
Cinematography by Asaf Sudri
Film Editing by Sharon Elovic
A magnificently ‘frozen’ romantic costume drama in which a man – the German poet Heinrich von Kleist – convinces a woman to love him to death.
Jessica Hausner’s “off-kilter compositions remold the costume drama into a geometry of suppressed feeling” [James Lattimer]
As in her previous movie Lourdes, a woman (who thinks she’s terminally ill) is manipulated by and surrenders to (masculine) forces.
Cast: Christian Friedel, Birte Schnoeink, Stephan Grossmann, Katharina Schüttler
Director: Jessica Hausner
Screenplay by Jessica Hausner
Cinematography by Martin Gschlacht
Film Editing by Karina Ressler
(and to Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Marziyeh Meshkini)
A father and her daughter have to keep moving in a voyage that leads them from not much to nothingness
“Despite the deprivations suffered by its subjects, At Five in the Afternoon is distinguished by the elegance and eloquence of its images.” [Jason Anderson]
As in Samira Makhmalbaf’s previous movies, fighting ignorance plays a central role
Cast: Agheleh Rezaie, Abdolgani Yousefrazi, Razi Mohebi
Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
Writers: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Samira Makhmalbaf
Music by Mohammad Reza Darvishi
Cinematography by Ebrahim Ghafori, Samira Makhmalbaf
Film Editing by Mohsen Makhmalbaf
(and to Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Marziyeh Meshkini)
In a land where children are used as mules to carry stolen goods across the border, a group of teachers tries to find pupils. But all the inhabitants of these mountain villages refuse, saying that learning to write and to read is useless
A seemingly extremely simple movie full of deep resonances
“The stripped-down dramatic constructs, austere imagery and abstract characters are equal parts poetry and politics, obvious at times but evocative and heartfelt.” [Sean Axmaker]
[Duane Dudek] “A stark metaphor about diasporic people wandering aimlessly through rocky, desolate terrain, buffeted by unseen forces beyond their control” in which education and the hope for a better life it brings has no place
Cast: Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari, Bahman Ghobadi
Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
Writers: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Samira Makhmalbaf
Music by Mohammad Reza Darvishi
Cinematography by Ebrahim Ghafori
Film Editing by Mohsen Makhmalbaf
(and to Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Marziyeh Meshkini)
The difficulties that a young Afghani girl encounters when she decides to go to school
In their games the children mimic the sad world of their parents and reveal its absurdity
It is extraordinary how much this director is able to suggest with very little means: a notebook and a lipstick in the hands of a little girl are sufficient to summarize the feminine condition!
Excellent debut!
Cast: Abbas Alijome, Abdolali Hoseinali, Nikbakht Noruz
Director: Hana Makhmalbaf
Writer: Marzieh Makhmalbaf (as Marzieh Meshkini)
Music by Tolibhon Shakhidi
Cinematography by Ostad Ali
Film Editing by Mastaneh Mohajer
An unglamorous Bonnie & Clyde born out of boredom: “the more time they spend together, the more painfully clear it becomes that they’re not in love, no crime has been committed, and new horizons hardly beckon.” [James Latimer]
Fantastic filming
Cast: Lisa Bowman, Larry Fessenden, Michael Buscemi, Greg Schroeder, Santo Fazio, Dick Russell, Sheila Korsi
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writer: Kelly Reichardt, Jesse Hartman
Cinematographer: Jim Denault
Editor: Larry Fessenden
Composer: John Hill
Impressive insight in Karen Gillan’s first feature
Cast: Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard
Director: Karen Gillan
Writer: Karen Gillan (screenplay)
Music by Pepijn Caudron
Cinematography by Edd Lukas
Film Editing by Brett W. Bachman
A young man meets a young woman. Both are haunted by the “mal de vivre” (sickness of living). Their sexual encounter turns into a series of introspective monologues that show how difficult it is to form one’s identity outside a given social context.
Strong acting!
The theme of sex and identity will find a new approach in Anne Emond’s Nelly (2018)
Cast: Catherine de Léan, Dimitri Storoge, Véronique Rebizov
Director: Anne Émond
Writer: Anne Émond
Cinematography by Mathieu Laverdière
Film Editing by Mathieu Bouchard-Malo
As in her preceding movies, 2 personages – a girl and a dog – and a car try to get somewhere but get stuck on the way.
Great movie based on a simple but very effective script.
“Kelly Reichardt’s “Wendy and Lucy” is another illustration of how absorbing a film can be when the plot doesn’t stand between us and a character.” [Roger Ebert]
Cast: Michelle Williams, Will Patton, Will Oldham, John Robinson
Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Written by Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt
Cinematography by Sam Levy
Film Editing by Kelly Reichardt
A young woman has to break away from a lifelong but toxic friendship
Consistent personages and well-handled plot, but the musical choice is at times obnoxious (see The Governess)
As in her first feature, Jewish identity and high education characterize Goldbacher’s female lead.
Cast: Anna Friel, Michelle Williams, Oliver Milburn, Kyle MacLachlan, Trudie Styler, Marianne Denicourt
Directed by Sandra Goldbacher
Written by Laurence Coriat, Sandra Goldbacher
Music by Adrian Johnston, Amy Odell
Cinematography by Denis Crossan
Film Editing by Michael Ellis
A young woman who leads a promiscuous life like her father that she emulates feels suddenly lost and abandoned when her father falls in love
An impressive debut over the meaning of love
Great score, and a “stunning, star-making performance, which, in one striking close-up after another, sharply captures the fear and pain of having to let go and grow up.”
“Polak’s episodic tale has a dreaminess marked by shots that drift in and out of focus to convey Hemel’s retreat from real feeling into vulgar sex talk, or tilt from right to left on a fixed axis to suggest that she’s careening out of control.” [Nick Schager]
Cast: Hannah Hoekstra, Hans Dagelet, Rifka Lodeizen
Director: Sacha Polak
Writer: Helena van der Meulen (screenplay)
Cinematography by Daniël Bouquet
Film Editing by Axel Skovdal Roelofs
An 18-year old girl joins a colorful group of girls, and while she skates with them, she learns what friendship means.
Cool because the movie shows “a younger generation [of women] that feels empowered to cross boundaries and to make their own world.” [Pat Brown]
Cast: Rachelle Vinberg, Jaden Smith, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Ardelia Lovelace, Nina Moran
Director: Crystal Moselle
Writer: Crystal Moselle, Aslihan Ünaldı, Jen Silverman
Cinematography: Shabier Kirchner
Music: Aska Matsumiya
Editor: Nico Leunen
Lonely people interacting with each other for no special reason, just to make sure that they’re still alive in a place haunted by failure / Loose lives that have no goals, no frills, just made bearable with sex and/or alcohol
“”The Off Hours” is set in the kind of place where dreams go to die.” [Jeff Shannon]
Excellent acting by Amy Steimetz
Cast: Amy Seimetz, Alice Bridgforth, Tony Doupe
Director: Megan Griffiths
Writer: Megan Griffiths
Music by Jeramy Koepping, Joshua Morrison
Cinematography by Benjamin Kasulke
Film Editing by Megan Griffiths
Impressive first feature combining drama and comedy, depth and spontaneity; fantastic acting by Winstead
“Vives (and Winstead) really understand this prickly armored woman, a woman who weeps with sadness after a great night, whose anger isn’t obliterated magically by the possibility of joy. “All About Nina” understands that happiness can be extremely stressful. If you’re unused to happiness, you don’t know what to do with it. You may, in fact, deliberately torch it, just so you can get back to the misery that is familiar. Not too many films—really, not too many people—understand this dynamic.” [Sheila O’Malley]
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Common, Chace Crawford, Clea Duvall, Kate del Castillo, Beau Bridges
Director: Eva Vives
Writer: Eva Vives
Cinematographer: Thomas Scott Stanton
Editor: Saira Haider, Susan Littenberg
Composer: John Dragonetti
Excellent acting in a finely-tuned story about the life and relationships of a middle-aged divorced mother
Cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Ben Falcone, Toni Collette, Amy Landecker, Michaela Watkins
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Writer: Nicole Holofcener
Music by Marcelo Zarvos
Cinematography by Xavier Grobet
Film Editing by Robert Frazen
Script at times old fashioned/melodramatic, but such a pleasurable direction and great acting!
The contrast between young Amy and old Amy shows how talented Kirsten Dunst was!
Cast: Winona Ryder, Gabriel Byrne, Trini Alvarado, Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Written by Robin Swicord
Based On The Book by Louisa May Alcott
Photographed by Geoffrey Simpson
Edited by Nicholas Beauman
Music by Thomas Newman
Intricate love relationships between a man and a woman as a couple, between two sisters, between a daughter and her father, between a teenager during her first kiss… Many facets, few certitudes…
A very dynamic direction with a Godard touch … and a subtle sense of humor!
““The Last Days of Chez Nous” is a drama, and so none of the characters play their expected parts, and what we get is astonishing: movie characters who think for themselves.” [Roger Ebert]
Cast: Lisa Harrow, Bruno Ganz, Kerry Fox
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Writer: Helen Garner
Music by Paul Grabowsky
Cinematography by Geoffrey Simpson
Film Editing by Nicholas Beauman
As in Lea Pool’s later movies, the relationship mother-daughter is a central theme, shown as a key element to the development of the child, while the fatherly figure is depicted as a loser and a source of conflict / Excellent acting
Cast: Karine Vanasse, Alexandre Merineau, Pascale Bussieres, Miki Manojlovic, Charlotte Christeler, Nancy Huston
Written and Directed by Lea Pool
Music by Robyn Schulkowsky
Cinematography by Jeanne Lapoirie
Film Editing by Michel Arcand
Unpretentious, great acting, a dizzying but expressive camera work
Riveting!
Cast: Saskia Rosendahl, Kai Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi, Andre Frid
Director: Cate Shortland
Screenplay by Cate Shortland, Robin Mukherjee
Music by Max Richter
Cinematography by Adam Arkapaw
Film Editing by Veronika Jenet
This sober but intense movie contrasts the inhumane landscapes of Alberta (Canada) with the survival drive of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease.
Fantastic photography of these unforgivable landscapes in which nothing good can happen, in which life cannot be but a struggle and death’s a part of everyday life: you wouldn’t know you’re on planet earth!
Extraordinary performance by Shirley Henderson: “She pulls off the most difficult and effective illusion of all, which is to make it look as if she’s living through what she’s acting. This is not the sort of screen acting that wins awards, I fear—it’s too subtle. But if you don’t treat yourself to this movie, you will indeed be missing out on one of the best pieces of acting 2018 cinema has to offer.” [Glenn Kenny]
Cast: Shirley Henderson, Théodore Pellerin, Mary Galloway, Nicholas Campbell, Jared Abrahamson, Hugo Ateo
Director: Kathleen Hepburn
Writer: Kathleen Hepburn
Music by Ben Fox
Cinematography by Norm Li
Film Editing by Simone Smith
A simple story with a profound and multi-faceted message
A very exceptional insight on women’s life and expectations in Saudi Arabia
Cast: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman Al Gohani
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Writer: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Music by Max Richter
Cinematography by Lutz Reitemeier
Film Editing by Andreas Wodraschke
A focused, “quiet, deeply empathetic film” (Allison Shoemaker) / Formidable performance by Edie Falco
Cast: Edie Falco, Jay Duplass, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben Schwartz, Aaron Blakely, Claudine Nako
Director: Lynn Shelton
Writer: Jay Duplass, Lynn Shelton
Cinematographer: Nathan M. Miller
Editor: Celia Beasley
Composer: Andrew Bird
An intelligent take on ‘a young woman in search of her identity’ / enjoyable, witty, deep, sensitive… / First feature
Cast: Zoe Kazan, Jake M. Johnson, Ron Livingston, Danny Pudi, Sterling Beaumon, Jeremy Howard
Director: Jenée LaMarque
Writer: Jenée LaMarque
Director of Photography: Polly Morgan
Editor: Kiran Pallegadda
Another approach to ‘a young woman in search of her identity’ / Team work gives a very nice ‘feel’ to the movie
Cast: Constance Wu, Josh Fadem, Jenée LaMarque
Director: Jenée LaMarque
Writers: Jenée LaMarque, Lauren Parks
Music by Julian Wass
Cinematography by Kristin Fieldhouse
Film Editing by Steph Zenee Perez
In a war-torn country divided along religious lines, the Christian and Muslim women of a small Lebanese village work together to stop their men’s fighting.
Intelligence and humor, comedy and drama, clear message
Cast: Nadine Labaki, Leyla Hakim, Yvonne Maalouf, Antoinette Noufaily
Directed by Nadine Labaki
Written by Thomas Bidegain, Nadine Labaki
Music by Khaled Mouzanar
Cinematography by Christophe Offenstein
Film Editing by Véronique Lange
Muratova’s images have their own language, her dialogues are very poetic – although at times obscure – and the abrupt cuts do not hinder the continuity. Original and powerful!
Cast: Nina Ruslanova, Vladimir Vysotsky, Kira Muratova, Yelena Bazilskaya, Olga Vikland, Aleksei Glazyrin, Valeri Isakov
Director: Kira Muratova
Screenplay: Kira Muratova, Leonid Zhukhovitsky
Dir. of Photography: Gennadi Karyuk
Music: Oleg Karavaichuk, Vladimir Vysotsky
Editor: O. Kharakova
Excellent original music, great personages
Cast: Illeana Douglas, John Turturro, Eric Stoltz, Matt Dillon, Patsy Kensit
Written and Directed by Allison Anders
Music by Larry Klein
Cinematography by Jean-Yves Escoffier
Film Editing by James Y. Kwei, Harvey Rosenstock, Thelma Schoonmaker
Surprising, great personages
Cast: Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk
Director: Allison Anders
Writers: Richard Peck (novel), Allison Anders (screenplay)
Music by J. Mascis
Cinematography by Dean Lent
Film Editing by Tracy Granger
A world of dysfunctional families in which men are assholes and woman have to fight to survive / A critical non-judgmental view on American society and those left behind by the American Dream
See also “The Florida Project” by Sean Baker
Cast: Naomi Watts, Matt Dillon, Norman Reedus, Tess Harper, Antoni Corone
Director by Laurie Collyer
Screenplay by Laurie Collyer
Music by J. Mascis
Cinematography by Igor Martinovic
Film Editing by Curtiss Clayton
An uncompromising view on the life of a young teacher full of hope and ideals, but who slowly sinks into despair (a painful experience that will remind many teachers of their rookie years) / A movie that proves that what we make of our life is greater than the sum of all the elements our life is made of!
Cast: Eva Löbau, Daniela Holtz, Jan Neumann
Director: Maren Ade
Writer: Maren Ade
Music by Nellis Du Biel, Ina Siefert
Cinematography by Nikolai von Graevenitz
Film Editing by Heike Parplies
Nice wink to the music of Bernard Hermann during the pursuit on the roof / fantastic visual effects
But why on earth would the Wachowsky sisters call the last human city ‘Zion’? It wouldn’t have anything to do with Hollywood, would it, Zion being a synonym of Jerusalem?
It’s a pity the movie ends up in a gun battle in which the “Bad guys fire thousands of rounds, but are unable to hit the good guy,” followed by a “final showdown between good and evil, a martial arts battle in which the good guy gets pounded until he’s almost dead, before he finds the inner will to fight back.” [Roger Ebert]
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Gloria Foster
Written and Directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski
Music by Don Davis
Cinematography by Bill Pope
Film Editing by Zach Staenberg
The people of Zion are in the future what the people of Zion were in the past.
Excellent love scene mixed with voluptuous dancing
The love relationships that were completely absent in the first Matrix now play a central role. The fight sequences are a bit too long!
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, Carrie-Anne Moss, Gloria Foster, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye, Harry Lennix, Harold Perrineau, Monica Bellucci
Written and Directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski
Music by Don Davis
Cinematography by Bill Pope
Film Editing by Zach Staenberg
Now that the philosophical hype has faded into oblivion, let’s enjoy the amazing visual effects and the good action in which most key roles are attributed to women, especially in this last pane of the trilogy.
An all-powerful Deus Ex Machina saves the show!
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Helmut Bakaitis, Hugo Weaving, Mary Alice, Monica Bellucci, Harry J. Lennix, Ian Bliss
Written and directed by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Music by Don Davis
Cinematography by Bill Pope
Film Editing by Zach Staenberg
Excellent cast, great humor, very sensitive direction
Cast: Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, Naomi Watts, Tate Donovan, Maria Dizzia, Sam Trammell, Linda Emond, Jordan Carlos
Director: Gaby Dellal
Writer: Nikole Beckwith, Gaby Dellal
Cinematographer: David Johnson
Editor: Joe Landauer, Jeff Betancourt
Composer: West Dylan Thordson
Excellent scenario and some fantastic editing.
Many have called it a bad movie (see the main ratings) because of its scandalous theme – two middle-aged women falling for two young men they know. However, the same critics wouldn’t have blinked if the movie had staged two men falling for their daughter-in-law. Hypocrisy at its best!
Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Sophie Lowe
Director: Anne Fontaine
Screenplay: Christopher Hampton
Novel: Doris Lessing
Music by Christopher Gordon
Cinematography by Christophe Beaucarne
Film Editing by Luc Barnier, Ceinwen Berry
“stings and stuns”
Cast: Minnie Driver, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Danny Glover, Jordan Belfi, Nate Parker
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Cinematography: Tami Reiker
Music by Mark Isham
Film Editing by Terilyn A. Shropshire
Intricate script shows how women can be as ruthless as men, and much meaner at the same time, eating each other alive while smiling! If ‘sharks’ describe guys, then what could be applied to a woman? Is “tigress”not to noble in this case?
But of course, we all know that it’s the context that transforms us into what we are: “The environment is not separate from ourselves. We are inside it and it is inside us. We make it, and it makes us.” (Yanomami, Brazil)
Cast: Anna Gunn, James Purefoy, Sarah Megan Thomas, Alysia Reiner, Carrie Preston, Michael Izquierdo, Craig Bierko, Margaret Colin
Director: Meera Menon
Writer (story by): Sarah Megan Thomas
Writer: Amy Fox
Cinematographer: Eric Lin
Editor: Andrew Hafitz
Composer: Samuel Jones, Alexis Marsh
The many facets of truth!
Gender roles in Victorian Canada / Excellent female lead
Cast: Sarah Gadon, Edward Holcroft, Rebecca Liddiard, David Cronenberg, Anna Paquin
Director: Mary Harron
Script: Margaret Atwood, Sarah Polley
Cinematography: Brendan Steacy
Music: Jeff Danna, Mychael Danna
The many voice-over deepen the personages as we share their “inner voice”, but leave us somewhat outside of them.
Cast: Carey Mullig;an, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Garrett Hedlund, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, Jonathan Banks, Kerry Cahill, Dylan Arnold, Lucy Faust
Director: Dee Rees
Writer (novel): Hillary Jordan
Writer: Virgil Williams, Dee Rees
Cinematographer: Rachel Morrison
Editor: Mako Kamitsuna
Composer: Tamar-kali
Robbery as a political statement. Intelligent direction
Cast: Thomas Jane, David O’Hara, Dexter Fletcher
Director: Bronwen Hughes
Writer: Bima Stagg
Music by The Free Association
Cinematography by Jess Hall
Film Editing by Robert Ivison
“That this movie even exists is a small miracle. That it seems to have been made without compromise and largely without ego makes it even more rare.” Matt Zoller Seitz. RobertEbert.com, September 15, 2017
Cast: Phoeung Kompheak, Sveng Socheata, Sareum Srey Moch
Director: Angelina Jolie
Writer Angelina Jolie, Loung Ung; based on the book by Loung Ung
Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle
Editor: Xavier Box, Patricia Rommel
Composer: Marco Beltrami
A look both anthropological and sensitive on the disappearance of traditional life in the Japanese mountains – The dialogues are sparse, but the leitmotifs guide us. Solid camera work
Cast: Jun Kunimura, Machiko Ono, Sachiko Izumi
Director: Naomi Kawase
Writer: Naomi Kawase
Music by Masamichi Shigeno
Cinematography by Masaki Tamura
Film Editing by Shûichi Kakesu
Wow!
Cast: Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas, Sean Gilder, Lorraine Ashbourne, Ian Burfield
Director: Clio Barnard
Writer: Clio Barnard, inspired by ‘The Selfish Giant’ by Oscar Wilde
Music by Harry Escott
Cinematography by Mike Eley
Film Editing by Nick Fenton
Extremely and often unbearably realism! The director and her crew play an active part in the movie, giving it a documentary touch that strengthens its impact.
Actors: Lexi Ainsworth, Hunter King, Jimmy Bennett
Director: Amy S. Weber
Writer: Amy S. Weber
Music by David Bateman
Cinematography by Samuel Brownfield
Film Editing by Todd Zelin
A very original movie (renews the western genre), a great work of art! (but not recommended for sensitive people)
Cast: Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Jim Carrey
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Writer: Ana Lily Amirpour
Cinematographer: Lyle Vincent
Editor: Alex O’Flinn
Contrary to A Quiet Passion that depicts the life of a poet (Emily Dickinson) who controls her words and the passion that inhabits her with excessive resolve, Black Butterflies pictures the South African poet Ingrid Jonker as a woman overwhelmed by the love and words that flow from her. SPOILER AHEAD: After several break-downs, her life finally ends at the feet of her father who implacably rejected her and the people she lent her voice to.
Actors: Carice van Houten, Liam Cunningham, Rutger Hauer
Director: Paula van der Oest
Writer: Greg Latter
Music by Philip Miller
Cinematography by Giulio Biccari
Film Editing by Sander Vos
To be watched twice (at least)!
Actors: Karolina Gruszka, Magdalena Boczarska,Justyna Wasilewska
Director: Maria Sadowska
Writer: Krzysztof Rak
Music: Radzimir Debski
Cinematography: Michal Sobocinski
Editing: Jaroslaw Kaminski
L’amour fou – Strong structure, sustained tempo, flawless
Actors: Sara Forestier, François Damiens, Adèle Haenel
Director: Katell Quillévéré
Writers: Mariette Désert, Katell Quillévéré
Cinematography: Tom Harari
Editing: Thomas Marchand
Cast: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson, Naeema Begum
Directed by Sarah Gavron
Written by Abi Morgan, Laura Jones
Based on the novel by Monica Ali
Music: Jocelyn Pook
Cinematography: Robbie Ryan
Editing: Melanie Oliver
A strong directorial debut
Cast: Morgan Saylor, Brian Marc, Justin Bartha, Chris Noth, Eden Marryshow
Director: Elizabeth Wood
Writer: Elizabeth Wood
Cinematographer: Michael Simmonds
Editor: Michael Taylor
A father and a daughter that so much separates and that so much unites.
A very surprising movie!
Cast: Peter Simonischek, Sandra Hüller, Lucy Russell, Vlad Ivanov, Hadewych Minis
Director: Maren Ade
Writer: Maren Ade
Cinematographer: Patrick Orth
Editor: Heike Parplies
“Rape and repressions are the two sides of the same coin. When you rape a girl, the problem is not that you’re taking away her purity, which gets everyone all up in arms. It’s that you’re taking away her wholeness. Trying to keep her pure, repressing her sexuality also takes her wholeness. I don’t want my daughter to grow up pure. I want her to grow whole.” says Anja in Split.
The idea of sexual violence taking a woman’s or a girl’s wholeness is the leading theme in Deborah Kampmeier’s three movies (Split, Virgin, and Hounddog).
Cast: Dakota Fanning, David Morse, Piper Laurie, Afemo Omilami, Robin Wright Penn, Cody Hanford, Jill Scott
Written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier
Music: Gisburg
Cinematography: Jim Denault
Photography: Edward Lachman
Editing: Sabine Hoffman
A most intelligent cry of revolt against violence perpetrated on women
SPOILERS AHEAD
Inanna (Amy Ferguson) joins an experimental theater group that works on the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna, and more specifically on the liberation of enslaved women. After a few rehearsals, she comes to the conclusion that she does not possess the primal rage and the raw longing for freedom that the other women in the play possess. In a most upsetting scene, these women tell how they have been victims of extreme sexualized violence.
At the same time, Inanna falls head over heels in love with Derek, a mask maker (Morgan Spector), and marries him. Right from the start, she adapts her life to his, while he refuses to change anything in his own life. He doesn’t even stop the affair he had with his assistant (Antonia Campbell-Hughes), claiming that she was there first.
Inanna soon realizes that she is losing her identity while getting nothing in return. Profoundly wounded and feeling like drowning, she is now able to express the primal rage and the raw longing for freedom that the play requires from her.
Cast: Amy Ferguson, Morgan Spector, Anna Mouglalis
Director: Deborah Kampmeier
Writers: Deborah Kampmeier, Deborah Kampmeier
Music: Leslie Graves, Michelangelo Sosnowitz
Cinematography: Alison Kelly
Editing: Siobhan Dunne
“The Namesake” reminds us of what it means to be American.
Cast: Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Sahira Nair, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson
Directed: Mira Nair
Photography: Frederick Elmes
Writers: Sooni Taraporevala; based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri
The movie is so relaxed in its storytelling, and so committed to a certain level of realism, that it frequently feels deliberately anti-dramatic.
[Glenn Kenny, July 22, 2016 http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/summertime-2016]
Cast: Izïa Higelin, Jean-Henri Compère, Cécile De France, Kévin Azaïs, Noémie Lvovsky, Laetitia Dosch
Director: Catherine Corsini
Writer: Catherine Corsini, Laurette Polmanss
Cinematographer: Jeanne Lapoirie
Editor: Frédéric Baillehaiche
Composer: Gregoire Hetzel
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, David Oyelowo, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Madina Nalwanga,
Director: Mira Nair
Writer: William Wheeler, (book by) Tim Crothers
Cinematographer: Sean Bobbitt
Editor: Barry Alexander Brown
Composer: Alex Heffes
strong images and silences punctuated by sparse dialogues
The total absence of explanation allows the viewer to create his/her own story, a magnificent present, but difficult to carry out. See mine below.
Beware: spoilers ahead!
My story. An island serves as a prison for a group of women. They are all the same age and do not grow old. Each woman has a boy to fulfill her maternal desires. The boys are all the same age, but are human, thus growing old. For that reason, they must be constantly medicated and operated to prevent them from reaching puberty. The nurse who takes care of the young Nicolas bonds with him and helps him to escape.
The sea – the magnificent images sharply contrast with the colorless and lifeless prison-island – represents the living world to which Nicolas belongs.
Cast: Max Brebant, Julie-Marie Parmentier, Roxane Duran, Mathieu Goldfeld, Nissim Renard
Director: Lucile Hadžihalilovic
Writers: Lucile Hadžihalilovic, Alante Kavaite
Cinematographer: Manuel Dacosse
Editor: Nassim Gordji Tehrani
Composer: Jesús Díaz
excellent direction and personages
weakest: message
A divorced lawyer mother of two tries to put some order in her chaotic life..
Cast: Virginie Efira, Vincent Lacoste, Melvil Poupaud
Director: Justine Triet
Writers: Thomas Lévy-Lasne, Justine Triet
Cinematography: Simon Beaufils
Editing: Laurent Sénéchal
Director: Aisling Walsh
Writers: Peter Ransley (screenplay), Sarah Waters (novel)
Actors: Elaine Cassidy, Sally Hawkins, Imelda Staunton
Director: Courtney Hunt
Writer: Courtney Hunt
Actors: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott
A feminine world from which the masculine is exiled at the fringe.
A world of women and children showing the universality and interchangeability of motherhood.
A multifaceted world on which it is as treacherous to tread as on a frozen river…
Director: Anne Fontaine
Writers: Pascal Bonitzer, Anne Fontaine, Sabrina B. Karine, Philippe Maynial, Alice Vial
Actors: Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza
Compelling story, sober but powerful images
MdW - Movies directed by Women 