ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

Helena Bonham Carter

Reviews 

ENOLA HOLMES 3 – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , , , , ,

In the sprightly entertaining Enola Holmes 3, Sherlock Holmes’s headstrong younger sister susses out not just how and why her brother vanished but what kind of Victorian-era woman she wants to be. Having made a name for herself as a sleuth in the previous Netflix films, Enola finds herself torn on her wedding day between her love for the young politician Tewkesbury and literally taking on his name as a proper Victorian lady. That she might have to give up detecting as well gives her pause enough to set out late for the ceremony, only to learn from Dr. Watson (Himesh Patel) that Sherlock (Henry Cavill) is missing. Enola Holmes 3 is an energetic whodunit, taking its older, still spirited protagonist through some slightly more mature territory.

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Movie of the Week 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 25, 2025: FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Art, poetry, love, longing, and gorgeous Irish landscapes come together in director Polly Steele’s poignant romantic drama Four Letters of Love. Based on the same-named novel by Niall Williams (who also wrote the screenplay) — and boasting talented stars including Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, and Helena Bonham Carter — the movie is unabashedly sentimental in telling its story of destiny, with a dash of the divine thrown in for good measure.

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Reviews 

ONE LIFE – Review by Lois Alter Mark

Lois Alter Mark , , , , , , , , , ,

There are certain movies you know would have a huge impact on the world if only the right people would see them. One Life, based on the true story of the man who saved hundreds of children during the Holocaust, is definitely one of those. Sir Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn portray the older and younger versions of real-life hero, Sir Nicholas “Nicky” Winton, and both are so perfect in the role, they will move you to tears – and, hopefully, action.

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Festivals Reviews 

ONE LIFE (TIFF 2023) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

Ulkar Alakbarova , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Based on true events, One Life follows Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker who was deeply affected by the fate that Jewish children could face when Nazi Germany declared the beginning of the occupation of Czechoslovakia. Nicholas (Johnny Flynn, portraying a younger Winton) promptly decided to involve all the friends he could find in Prague to save as many Jewish children as possible who were at risk of imminent danger.

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Reviews 

THREE MINUTES: A LENGTHENING – Review by Beth Accomando

Beth Accomando , , , , , ,

The three minutes of the title refers to a home movie shot by David Kurtz in 1938 in a Jewish town in Poland. The footage is presented as the only moving images left of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk before the Holocaust. Filmmaker Bianca Stigter constructs the documentary exclusively from those three minutes of home movies – some in color, some black and white, all silent. She slows the images down, freezes moments, and zooms in for closer inspection. In some ways it plays out like a police procedural as the identities of some of the people are discovered and tiny details are used to determine where the footage was shot and what was going on.

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General Archives Movie of the Week Reviews Women on Film 

AWFJ Movie of the Week, May 23 – May 29: ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Nikki Baughan 0 Comments , , , , , , ,

Opening May 27, AWFJ’s Movie of the Week is Alice Through the Looking Glass, which sees Alice (Mia Wasikowska) return to the whimsical Wonderland and travel back in time to save her friend, The Mad Hatter (Johnnie Depp) Read on…

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

AWFJ Movie of the Week, October 20-26, 2015: SUFFRAGETTE

Nikki Baughan 0 Comments , , , , , , , , , , , ,

British director Sarah Gavron’s phenomenal portrait of the brave women at the vanguard of the rights to vote campaign in the early 20th century in Britain. Specifically, Gavron and master screenwriter Abi Morgan (Shame, The Iron Lady) have chosen to set their film in the seminal year of 1912 when, disheartened by the lack of progress, movement leader Emmeline Pankhurst (a commanding cameo by Meryl Streep) decreed that words should become action. And so it was that peaceful protest and political machinations turned into guerilla warfare, bands of women creating civil unrest to draw attention to their cause; and, often, ending up behind bars, isolated from their families, subject to the most heinous public shame and physically tortured.

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