Tag: Women Make Film

Joan Micklin Silver’s ‘Crossing Delancey’ Charms the Audience With its Simple New York Romance

Director Joan Micklin Silver and writer Susan Sandler teamed up in 1988 to create Crossing Delancey. Based on a play of the same name, the film is a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of Manhattan. (KIZJ: 3.5/5) 

Germaine Dulac’s ‘La Cigarette’ Film is Silent, but Speaks Volumes

TCM will feature films from 12 decades— representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles, all created by women. Read more about this here!  La Cigarette is a silent film from 1919, but its gender politics and relationship drama hold up surprisingly well for a modern audience. With excellent direction and naturalistic performances, it’s a… Continue reading Germaine Dulac’s ‘La Cigarette’ Film is Silent, but Speaks Volumes

Gillian Armstrong’s Feminist Film ‘My Brilliant Career’ Illuminates Why Women Feel Compelled to Fulfill Societal Soles

In 1979, director Gillian Armstrong created one of Australia’s finest pieces of feminist film—My Brilliant Career. Based on the novel by Miles Franklin, it centers on a woman who is full of spirit and determination to take full control of her own life. Judy Davis stars as the protagonist who is ready to defy all societal expectations with her thoughts and actions, without a care for what others think. (KIZJ: 4/5) 

‘This Is the Sea’ is a Fascinating Glimpse at Ireland in the Late 1990s

TCM will feature films from 12 decades— representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles, all created by women. Read more about this here!  Mary McGuckian’s This Is the Sea has been largely forgotten over time. Still, it shares a forbidden love story between a Protestant girl and a Catholic boy in Northern Ireland during… Continue reading ‘This Is the Sea’ is a Fascinating Glimpse at Ireland in the Late 1990s

Director Zelda Barron’s ‘Shag’ Kicked off the “Naughties” by Reminiscing about American Teenagers in the 1950s

British director Zelda Barron directed Shag in 2001—a film that throws its audience back to simpler times. Starring Page Hannah, Annabeth Gish, Phoebe Cates, and Bridget Fonda, Shag is a friendly and heartwarming film where getting caught by the parents is life’s biggest disaster. (KIZJ: 3/5)

Hausner’s ‘Lourdes’ Handles Religious Faith and Miracles with Delicacy

TCM will feature films from 12 decades— representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles all created by women. Read more about this here!  French film Lourdes explores religion, faith, and skepticism through the story of a woman on a trip to seek healing at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Neither overtly for… Continue reading Hausner’s ‘Lourdes’ Handles Religious Faith and Miracles with Delicacy

Director Ann Hui Shows a Bleak Reality through a Photojournalist in ‘Boat People’ — the Final Movement of Her Vietnam Trilogy

In 1982, Ann Hui directed the film Boat People (Tau Ban No Hoi)—the final leg of her trilogy of films that center around Vietnam. Starring George Lam, Season Ma, Cora Miao, and the young Andy Lau, the film is an emotional discovery of how people lived in postwar Vietnam. KIZJ: (4/5)

Silent Film ‘Shoes’ is a Surprisingly Moving Portrait of Hardship in the Early Twentieth Century

TCM will feature films from 12 decades— representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles all created by women. Read more about this here!  While certainly giving into some of the melodrama common in silent films of this era, Lois Weber’s Shoes is a moving tale about poverty and the lengths one young woman must… Continue reading Silent Film ‘Shoes’ is a Surprisingly Moving Portrait of Hardship in the Early Twentieth Century

Director Shaohong Li’s ‘Stolen Life’ Exemplifies How a Single Choice Impacts a Life and a Love

In 2005, Shaohong Li directed the coming-of-age drama Stolen Life (Sheng Si Jie), starring Xun Zhou and Jun Wu. The film won the Best Narrative Feature category at Tribeca Film Festival and is a sobering presentation of how drastically life can change when an unexpected child comes along. KIZJ (3/5)

Parker Posey Shines in ‘Party Girl,’ a Capsule of the New York City 1990 Club Ccene

TCM will feature films from 12 decades— representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles all created by women. Read more about this here!  This very campy film about a party girl who finds her calling as a librarian mainly works due to Parker Posey’s charm. While the fashion is fantastic and the film is… Continue reading Parker Posey Shines in ‘Party Girl,’ a Capsule of the New York City 1990 Club Ccene

A Film Pioneer’s Guide to ‘The Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ’

In Alice Guy-Blaché’s 1906 film The Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ, the infamous stories of Jesus Christ are told in 25 scenes. We see the early developments of film and cinema through these pictures and how stories unfold through gestures and body language rather than dialogue. (SYJ: 4/5)

Martha Coolidge Brings to Screen the Comedic Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play ‘Lost in Yonkers’

Director Martha Coolidge collaborates with writer Neil Simon to adapt his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Lost in Yonkers. A warm and kind coming-of-age film where two boys are forced into a new way of living when they stay with their strict grandma in Yonkers. (KIZJ: 3/5)

‘Children of a Lesser God’ blazed a trail for representation but doesn’t hold up today

TCM will feature films from 12 decades— representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles all created by women. Read more about this here!  Children of a Lesser God was a leap forward in representation for deaf and hard-of-hearing people in film, both in its characters and the actors hired to play them. However, decades… Continue reading ‘Children of a Lesser God’ blazed a trail for representation but doesn’t hold up today

Director Kimberly Peirce Reveals Soldiers’ Hidden Mental and Emotional Pain in ‘Stop-Loss’

In 2008, Kimberly Peirce directed and co-wrote Stop-Loss—a film that voices the pain hidden within the soldiers that fight the wars for America in Iraq. Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gorden-Levitt, and Abbie Cornish star in this war story based on reality. (KIZJ: 3/5)

Joan Darling’s ‘First Love’ is a Not-So-Sweet Dive into Campus Romance

Joan Darling directed First Love—one of the first big studio films that was offered to a woman. William Katt and Susan Dey star in this campus love story where a hopeful young man falls in love with a beautiful woman, whose heart is with an older man. (KIZJ: 3/5)

Esmer’s 10 to 11 is grounded and touching

You can watch Pelin Esmer’s 10 to 11 as part of Turner Classic Movies “Women Make Film” series on 9/16 at 5:15 AM. TCM will feature films from 12 decades—and representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles all created by women. Read more about this here!  Pelin Esmer wrote and directed 10 to 11 based on her uncle, who actually… Continue reading Esmer’s 10 to 11 is grounded and touching

Kirsten Johnson reflects on and reveals life as a documentary filmmaker in ‘Cameraperson’

Documentary director and cinematographer Kirsten Johnson assembles parts of the footage from her years of work into a masterpiece feature Cameraperson. The compilation includes multiple storylines from across the world and captures the lives of many in front of the lens, but also the psychology of those behind the camera. KIZJ: (4/5)

Marie-Louise Iribe Takes Us into a Frightful Escape from ‘The Erl King’

In director and actress Marie-Louise Iribe’s 1931 film Le Roi des Aulnes (The Erl King), a young boy (Raymond Lapon) is dying in his father’s (Otto Gebühr) arms while riding through the woods. Desperately, the father clings to his son, keeping him warm and reassuring him everything will be okay. (SYJ: 4/5)

Director Larisa Shepitko Reveals War-Torn Psychologies in ‘The Ascent’

Larisa Shepitko directed and co-wrote The Ascent. The film is a haunting drama set during the Great Patriotic War in World War II, with its story based on Vasil Bykaŭ’s novel, Sotnikov. Boris Plotnikov and Vladimir Gostyukhin star as two partisans who fight for survival physically and emotionally amidst the brutal winter in 1942. (KIZJ: 4.5/5)