Please recommend me some pro-feminism films- I am fed up!

Watch the trailers on that IMDB limo, and see if it appeals.

My dh thinks that Alien and Dawn of the Dead (new version) to be movies with great, strong female leads.

I adore the Gilmore Girls which is a TV series but witty and uplifting.

Oh, but you MUST see Away We Go. It not only passes the Bechdel test, it's warm and funny and moving, and has the most hilarious character in it played by Maggie Gyllenhall who would definitely inspire a thread or two on here if she were real. It should be compulsory viewing for MNers

Oh god that's HIM Bof! I couldn't just place that voice

mousy- the fiesty one dies in the end- sending a v unfeministy-message imo

The only problem with Sliding Doors is that the doors don't trap John Hannah's head and kill him painfully. Let's see how gud with fud he is after that.

I don't know if 4.3.2.1. counts as feminist, as it was written by a man (Noel Clarke) - I found a lot of it very uncomfortable viewing, as the 4 women in it are treated absolutely horrendously by the men around them, but then it's very (depressingly) realistic in that respect. And in the end I enjoyed it, it's very good about the friendships between the women as well as being fast-moving and having a happy(ish) ending - that doesn't involve a man!

what about 'sliding doors'?

i wonder if feminist academics here would agree but I really liked "In the Valley of Elah"

I do like Mystic Pizza but it is a bit 'getting the man is a happy ending' - not v feministy

A children's film I think is good is the Wolves of Willoughby Chase- Bonnie is a great character.

The Tina Turner biopic- What's love got to do with it?

Steel Magnolias is quite soppy but is good on women's relationships with others.

A League of their own, another one- Gina Davis does tend to pick good scripts, I think she does identify as a feminist.

The Colour Purple was written as a feminist book turned film, but I was disappointed by the 'he wasnt that bad after all' ending.

Wildcats, with Goldie Hawn as a high school football coach is forgotten but worth finding- they try to take her kids off her for having a job!

Girl, interrupted is good for showing how normal teenage girls used to be locked up for behaviour that was acceptable for boys- same with the Maddalene Sisters- but that is quite harrowing and not an easy watch- they only closed in 1996!

I think Gosford Park is good- Kelly McDonald has the brains to solve the mystery and it shows how oppressed the Helen Mirren and Emily Watson characters were.

Cleopatra? I only saw this for the first time recently and I was surprised I liked it so much- it is long (4hrs) but worth sacrificing a day on the counch for. National Velvet is another good Liz Taylor film.

North Country with Charlize Theron is quite boring but it tells the story of how sexual harassment at work became illegal in the USA- shockingly recently.

Bend it like Beckham id good for younger audiences.

oh I love The Hours too dunrovin

Julianne Moore's character

Persepolis

I should add, the Bechdel test is not a measure of feminism/feminist message in the film itself - it's not really supposed to be. But it is a measure of whether the women are actually PEOPLE in the film, or accessories to the Real Human People, y'know, the male characters.

So, for example, Sex and the City would pass the Bechdel test (all that talk about shoes!) but isn't necessarily a feminist film. (not trying to make a specific point about SATC, rather about the nature of the test.)

Oh, yes to Sunshine Cleaning!

Made in Dagenham - really good film
The Help
Is The Hours, about Virginia Woolf feminist? It's a brilliant film, anyway.

Everyone's definition of Feminist is different I suppose but here are some films that I have enjoyed that had strong female characters,

I second, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, loved that film.

Deloras Clairborne ( another Kathy Bates)

Joy Luck Club

Sunshine Cleaning

Little Miss Sunshine -( just for the little girl's act in the beauty pagent, brilliant)

1970 version of the apocalyptic TV show Survivors had two female leads and was far superior to the recent revamped one.

The Notebook -( is a really beautiful love story and bucking the trend, love making scene was exactly that; no violence involved, no power plays, just two people in love)

V for Vendetta - graphic novel is better but I thought Natalie Portman was good and Alan Moore's inclusion of a woman persucuted for her homosexuality was a angle which is largely ignored in mainstream cinema.

Jennifer's Body - Horror, mixed reviews but I thought the power play between the two female leads were good and not all the males are numpties

scrap out the last bit...
should preview!

have a look at His & Hers.

It's a gorgeous documentary - interviews with women and girls from childhood to old age.

Spectacularly fails the Bechdel Test - the interviews are all about their relationships with the men in their lives, from daddies, to growing sons, to the solitude of widowhood. They are all from one small rural Irish town, and live fairly traditional lives, in fairly traditional gender roles.

But for all that it's absolutely gorgeous, very respectful to women, their trad. roles and a celebration of the strength and wisdom of maturity rather than hotness of youth.

Lovely for Christmas too, I shed an old tear....
But it's a gorgeous

not feminist but the the help and the kids are alright at least feature more women than men. i really liked morning glory as well - was much better than i expected it to be.

I haven't seen if for years but maybe Mystic Pizza? Would have to rewatch.

Private Benjamin and Educating Rita are fantastic.

I have to say I'm struggling.......

Oooh how could I forget 9 to 5? Like Whip It it's not a feminist film but it is fun and positive about women and (crucially for me) their relationships with other women (see also First Wives Club...sort of).

I must admit to hardly ever watching modern films, I find a lot of them boring/ uncomfortable/ unpleasant to watch. I think in the last 10 years the backlash has been very evident in the film industry

Thank you for the lovely welcome

Aliens definitely. And I am perhaps alone in loving Alien vs Predator.

Broadcast News, maybe not Feminist, but interesting.

Caramel?

Talking of Calamity Jane, have you seen the TV series Deadwood? the actress who plays her in that is superb, and she gets a happy lesbian ending of sorts. I'd recommend that.