Being Maria – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 30, 2025: Team MOTW’S Summer Watch List

May 25, 2025June 4, 2025 Jennifer Merin Being Maria, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, Jazzy, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, nell minow, Pam Grady, Pangolin: Kulu's Journey, Sabdue Angulo Chen, sherin nicole, STORY $ PICTURES BY, The Assessment, The President’s Wife, There’s Still Tomorrow, Timestalker, We Were Dangerous

If you’re looking forward to some summer cinema chilling with some hot movies, here’s AWFJ’s list of ten must see femme-directed femme-centric films for your June-July-August viewing pleasure. Each of the films on this watch list was featured on AWFJ.org as one of our previous 2025 Movies of the Week.For our summer 2025 watch list, each member of Team MOTW selected her favorite of 2025’s featured MOTWs to recommend to you. Representing the diverse preferences and perspectives of Team MOTW members, the list includes titles ranging from romcoms to thrillers to documentaries, each with a compelling new story or a fascinating twist on a classic, a timely and relatably relevant theme, and exceptional artisanship by female creatives. We suggest that you read the original MOTW post for each (the links are included) to get the full array of Team MOTW’s takes on the film.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 14, 2025: BEING MARIA

March 9, 2025March 13, 2025 Jennifer Merin Anamaria Vartolomei, Being Maria, Bernardo Bertolucci, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Céleste Brunnquell, Giuseppe Maggio, jennifer merin, Jessica Palud, Last Tango in Paris, Laurette Polmanss, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Marie Gillain, marlon brando, Matt Dillon, nell minow, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, Tu t'appelais Maria Schneider, Vanessa Schneider

The impact of the male gaze on women in film is a subject that’s been documented and debated for decades. But Jessica Palud’s drama Being Maria viscerally reminds us of just how damaging that gaze can be as it tells the true story of Maria Schneider, the young French actress whose career — and life — were derailed by the men who manipulated her while making the controversial classic Last Tango in Paris.

Reviews

BEING MARIA – Review by Loren King

March 3, 2025March 9, 2025 Loren King Anamaria Vartolomei, Being Maria, Bernardo Bertolucci, Céleste Brunnquell, Giuseppe Maggio, Jessica Palud, Last Tango in Paris, Laurette Polmanss, Marie Gillain, marlon brando, Matt Dillon, Tu t'appelais Maria Schneider, Vanessa Schneider

The biting subtext to writer-director Jessica Palud’s Being Maria is recreating the climate on film sets and within the echo chambers of the film world — press junkets, photo shoots, agent meetings —for a young aspiring actress before the MeToo era. It takes the controversial but much lauded film Last Tango in Paris and recreates the experience from the point of view of Maria Schneider (Anamaria Vartolomei), just 19 and in her first major screen role.

Reviews

BEING MARIA – Review by Jennifer Merin

March 3, 2025March 8, 2025 Jennifer Merin Anamaria Vartolomei, Being Maria, Bernardo Bertolucci, Céleste Brunnquell, Giuseppe Maggio, Jessica Palud, Last Tango in Paris, Laurette Polmanss, Marie Gillain, marlon brando, Matt Dillon, Tu t'appelais Maria Schneider, Vanessa Schneider

Being Maria is a revealing truth-based biopic about the life and career of actress Maria Schneider, whose star ascended when she was just 19, after her daring performance opposite Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci’s highly controversial film, Last Tango in Paris (1972). Director Jessica Palud’s compelling telling of the story shows how Schneider’s risqué role and the fame that came with it impacted young Maria’s future relationships and repertoire. This picture is not one of kudos and glam.