Female Film Critics 24/375
Boasting powerful star performances by Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore and a story with big, emotional twists, Bart Freundlich’s “After the Wedding” is a gender-swapped remake of Susanne Bier’s same-named 2006 Danish drama. It’s a thought-provoking look at life choices, legacy, and motherhood that will stick with you after the credits roll.
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Nanfu Wang’s One Child Nation is a frank, honest look at the devastating impact of China’s “one child per family” policy. Introduced by the Chinese government in 1979 as a radical way of curbing unsustainable population growth, the policy relied on powerful propaganda — and strict enforcement — to ensure compliance. In the documentary, the Chinese-born Wang, now a mother herself, explores the program’s long-term impact on her country and her people.
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Beautifully filmed yet brutal to watch, Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale is a revenge drama that will resonate with any woman who’s been assaulted — or, for that matter, dismissed by society. Set in 1825 Tasmania, it follows the plight of Clare, an Irish convict who’s suffered years of abuse at the hands of a British officer and is driven by his brutality to seek brutal revenge. The Nightingale is difficult to watch, but it is most certainly a must see.
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Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s documentary “Honeyland” tells the compelling story of Hatidze Muratova, a Macedonian beekeeper whose quiet rural life with her ailing mother is upended upended by the arrival of an itinerant family, complete with seven children and a herd of cattle. Intimate and immersive, the film captures a place so removed from Western hustle and bustle that it almost feels like another century.
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Just about everyone ends up feeling invisible at some point during their teen years — but what if you actually disappeared? That’s what happens to Holly in writer/director Claudia Myers Above the Shadows, a drama/fantasy that serves as an allegory for what it’s like to be marginalized out of your very existence.
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Opportunity makes strange — but ultimately well-suited — bedfellows in Lynn Shelton’s quirky dramedy Sword of Trust. Centered on an antique weapon that may (or may not) have played an unexpectedly important role in American history, it digs into the denial and hate that are tied into so much of the divisiveness that’s currently plaguing our country. All with an absurdist tone, naturally.
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Much analyzed and, according to many, much misunderstood, Ophelia has always been one of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic characters. With Ophelia, director Claire McCarthy and screenwriter Semi Chellas aim to demystify Hamlet’s lady love, turning her into a smart, fully fleshed-out woman with spirit and agency.
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As tense and exciting as anything scripted in Hollywood, Alex Holmes’ documentary Maiden is all the more remarkable for being a true story. It takes viewers back to 1989, when Tracy Edwards, then 24, became the first skipper of an all-female sailing crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race. Facing both the elements and skepticism from the establishment, Edwards and her team defied expectations — and scored a victory for feminism in the process.
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Cross The Devil Wears Prada with 30 Rock, and you might get something like Late Night, director Nisha Ganatra’s timely comedy about a starry-eyed young comedy writer named Molly (Mindy Kaling) who gets the chance of a lifetime when she’s hired to work for iconic late-night talk show host Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson). Written by Kaling, the movie mixes behind-the-scenes showbiz humor with smart observations about what it’s really like for women to break down barriers.
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Inspiring and intimate, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am is a revealing portrait of a true American icon. The Nobel Prize-winning author shares details of her life and work honestly and openly, while fellow luminaries — and enthusiastic fans — like Oprah Winfrey, Fran Lebowitz, Walter Mosley, and many more wax rhapsodic about Morrison’s talent and significance as a writer.
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