Yes, we should watch movies directed by women just for that reason.

As someone who constantly talks, dreams and thinks about movies it should come as no surprise that I’d be engaged in film discourse. From finding deeper philosophical meanings in absurd films to ranking movies based on year, director, genre. I’m into it all. I come across a lot of strange things in the world of film enthousiasts. From men having banners with Polanski’s face on them to men who will vilify you if you call movies or directors they love ‘immoral.’ It should then come as no surprise that these same men will attack you for opening the discourse on female film directors. And precisely this question is one I want to tackle. These seemingly liberal men ‘we should not pick our movies based on the sex of the director’ are precisely the problem which will haunt female directors for a lifetime to come. If we do not differentiate based on sex, we cannot address the inequality within the film industry. So yes, I will argue that prior to anything we should differentiate based on sex.

Put the blame on Mame ~ ‘Gilda’ movie review (Charles Vidor, 1946)

The glamour in classic Hollywood movies make me dizzy with nostalgia to a world I probably wouldn’t have liked to be in. Yet I still romanticize the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s precisely because of the beautiful movies that were made back then. Though I’m not unaware of the problems in those movies, especially as a feminist. Women are either femme fatales and serve solely as a catalyst for the downfall of a man or serves merely as an accessory and can be replaced by a lamp. A few weeks ago I’ve finally watched Gilda and through her being constantly pushed into a femme fatale box by her ex-lover Johnny she eventually starts to see herself as nothing more than that. Yet the movie offered a raw portrayal of what this label does to those women in question rather than zoom in on how the men are disadvantaged by those women. The movie is also an ode to all the female actresses that completely outshone the male character & a plea for more female characters in movies. Because damn it, did Ford’s acting pale in comparison to that of the magnificent Rita Hayworth.

International Woman Day!

It’s International Woman Day! (well not anymore but i had no time to write it y’day so this will have to do) Make a wish! (that’s probably not how it works but that’s how i’m gonna play it). I have about a million wishes when it comes to the position of women in the entire world. But they are not quick fixes. Even the genie in the bottle would just force himself back in the bottle if I made my three wishes.

illyria <3

She’s smart, driven, strong, ambitious. She was trapped in a hell dimension for 5 years until her Angel rescued her. But he couldn’t rescue her from the path Joss Whedon had laid out for her. She was a woman, so she had to die. But not just die, she had to die in a horrible way to make place for a demon that would become the great Illyria. What the fuck are you saying?? 

Team Hurricane

Nothing gets me more excited than movies directed, written & lead by women. So when I saw this in the selection of IFFR 2018, I had to go see it. I can write and plea for more women behind the camera on this blog, or I can go out and support them. I saw three movies that were directed by women: La Holandesa (Messi and Maud) , Pin Cushion & this one. I also bought tickets for Lady Bird & My Friend The Polish Girl. 

The movie is about radical girls in an ordinary world. I’d know all about that. It’s directed by Annika Berg. It’s her picture debut. I am a huge fan of Scandinavian movies (Bergman!!) & Scandinavia in general. This movie could not disappoint. And luckily, it didn’t. Don’t let all the bright colors in the pictures fool you. They love their Hello Kitty and their neon, but they are feeling blue. And that is essentially what this movie is about. The contrast between the vibrant colors, the anime cuts with motivational quotes & the shots where they discuss their mental states make for a intriguing movie that is not only accurate in depicting the range of mental states of young women but is also a raw depiction of the expectations of society to always be colorful, even when inside you constantly try to mix grey with grey to form pink.

It’s definitely an experimental movie & it’s aesthetically pleasing . The cast consists out of a group of girls (and a dog) who formed a friend group in the youth center. All characters have their stories told in a satisfying way. Although the problems range from severe to mild, nothing is portrayed as insignificant. And that is the curse that most teenagers suffer from. Their problems are not taken serious because they’re just teenagers who haven’t experienced real problems. I like how there’s no moral voice overshadowing their voices. So I found the characters to be fleshed out sufficiently. It was a short movie, so I won’t say they were developed as much as they could. But they were developed enough in light of the movie. Nothing pisses me off more than cardboard characters. And the shorter the movie, the more chance of that. But Annika Berg & her cast managed to introduce 8 threedimensional characters in 96 minutes that I could all find some common ground with. But I guess we all still have that teenage angst buried deep inside somewhere. The graphics of this movie looked so 2007 with the flashing texts & moviemaker cuts that it reminded me of mine. I’d love to see more of this director!