“In Bloom” by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross (2013)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#35)

First Feature

Good script, personages, direction and images
Top gender content and message

A world of women in which men are either away at war or drunk.
The story of two girls who have just gone through puberty and are obliged to play their adult female social role without having the possibility of a “coming of age”
A good account of how the rich life of girls is transformed into a life of slavery as they become women, and a good representation of patriarchal rule in all its non-sense

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,2
Metascore 7,2
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 7,6
Average critics 7,2
Average public 7,6

Cast: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria, Zurab Gogaladze
Directors: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß (as Simon Gross)
Writer: Nana Ekvtimishvili
Cinematography by Oleg Mutu
Film Editing by Stefan Stabenow

“Smooth Talk” by Joyce Chopra (1985)

The work of Joyce Chopra (1/2)

First Feature

Good humor, music and message
Excellent script and images
Top direction and gender content

Laura Dern is magnetic here as a 15-year old girl who wants to discover love, sex and boys, and who tries her best to keep what she provokes under control… a story that so many girls go through.
Towards the end, there’s a 23-minute long scene (23 minutes !!!) in which an older and experienced man (Treat Williams) tries to convince Connie (Laura Dern) to let him be her first lover … And it’s not only about what is said but also what emanates from their bodies… Hypnotic!
A movie with imperfections (uneven personages and dialogues), but exceptional in many ways

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 7,4
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 7,6
Average public 6,2

Cast Laura Dern, Treat Williams, Mary Kay Place, Elizabeth Berridge, Levon Helm
Directed by Joyce Chopra
Story by Joyce Carol Oates, screenplay by Tom Cole
Music by James Taylor
Edited by Patrick Dodd
Photographed by James Glennon

“Smooth Talk” by Joyce Chopra (1985)

Best movies seen in 2020

A Weekend Treat!

First Feature

Good humor, music and message
Excellent script and images
Top direction and gender content

Laura Dern is really magnetic as a 15-year old girl who wants to discover love, sex and boys, and who tries her best to keep what she provokes under control… a story that so many girls go through.
Towards the end, there’s a 23-minute long scene (23 minutes !!!) in which an older and experienced man (Treat Williams) tries to convince Connie (Laura Dern) to let him be her first lover … And it’s not only about what is said but also what emanates from their bodies… Hypnotic!
A movie with imperfections (uneven personages and dialogues), but exceptional in many ways

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 7,4
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 7,6
Average public 6,2

Cast Laura Dern, Treat Williams, Mary Kay Place, Elizabeth Berridge, Levon Helm
Story by Joyce Carol Oates
Directed by Joyce Chopra
Screenplay by Tom Cole
Based On Tom Cole
Music by James Taylor
Edited by Patrick Dodd
Photographed by James Glennon

“In Bloom” by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross (2013)

Facets of Patriarchy

First Feature

Good script, personages, direction and images
Top gender content and message

A world of women in which men are either away at war or drunk.
The story of two girls who have just gone through puberty and are obliged to play their adult female social role without having the possibility of a “coming of age”
A good account of how the rich life of girls is transformed into a life of slavery as they become women, and a good representation of patriarchal rule in all its non-sense

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,2
Metascore 7,2
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 7,6
Average critics 7,2
Average public 7,6

Cast: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria, Zurab Gogaladze
Directors: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß (as Simon Gross)
Writer: Nana Ekvtimishvili
Cinematography by Oleg Mutu
Film Editing by Stefan Stabenow

“Skate Kitchen” by Crystal Moselle (2018)

Impressive First Feature

 

Great dialogues, images, music, and message
Excellent personages and direction
Top gender content and minority presence

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]

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,3
Metascore 7,2
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,4
IMDB 6,8
Average critics 7,3
Average public 7,1

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

“Skate Kitchen” by Crystal Moselle (2018)

first feature

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

“Thirteen” by Catherine Hardwicke (USA, 2003)

A world in which men are central but absent

Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed, Jeremy Sisto, Brady Corbet
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Written by Hardwicke, Nikki Reed
Music by Mark Mothersbaugh, Brian Zarate
Cinematography by Elliot Davis
Film Editing by Nancy Richardson

“The Selfish Giant” by Clio Barnard (UK, 2013)

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

“Evolution” (Lucile Hadzihalilovic, France 2015)

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