Films with a feminist angle

I Am Tonya.
The Favourite.
Both entirely about women and great acting including by middle aged/older women.

I watched Carrie Pilby on Netflix last night; an unusual pick as I tend to avoid books and films with a character name only as title.

It was great! A young, high-IQ Harvard graduate with no social skills has to go out into New York and meet people, date, etc.
She starts off as unlikable, snobbish about her intelligence and know-it-all -- and prudish. I was convinced she'd end up having great sex, and that would be the cure-all for all her troubles.
But it wasn't. She sees through the lines her suitors use to seduce her, avoids seduction, and the ending is perfect.

Afterwards, I was convinced that only a woman could have made this film. A man would definitely want to see her sexually won over by a man. So I checked, and: female director, female screenwriter, female novelist, female producer.

Murder She Said even - doh!

Then there's the incredible 1922 silent film Haxan - Witchcraft Through the Ages

Much to interest feminists here

full movie here

Any film staring the late great Margret Rutherford as Miss Marple

Murde She Said was the firts and best and, given the subject matter, quite prescient

trailer

Now, The Snow Queen, otoh, is a feminist tale. Gerda sets off to save her brother, helped by a variety of strong females, the Robber Girl, the Lap Woman and the Finn Woman

And the Princess who wanted a prince-consort as intelligent as she is. Interesting also that the Snow Queen doesn't suffer any punishment or loss of status.

On the subject of women directors

Lizzie Borden's 1986 film Working Girls

Definitely NSFW 18+ viewers only
watch the full movie here - this has not been up long and may be taken down soon it is a rare film so anyone interested in the debate around whether sex work is work might want to download it ASAP

Borden spent a lot of time with women in brothels and made a film depicting the day to day life of women working in them based on her experiences

The film includes nudity and some explicit scenes although these are never "erotic" or titilating, they more depict the mundane and often boring reality of sex work. The depiction of the madame, a horrible character, rings some bells for me.

Another of Borden' films, Born in Flames will be of interest to feminists

trailer here

Lily Tomlin is great. Has anyone mentioned 9 to 5? I love that film. Its comedy but a great reflection of women's working experiences and Lilly Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton are fantastic in it.

Keep an eye out for this:

Some great (and not so great imao ) films mentioned here.

I'd like to nominate Grandma from 2015 starring and written for the fabulous Lily Tomlin. She plays the titular Grandma who ends up on a road trip with her granddaughter to try and raise the money for the latter's abortion.

Tomlin's character is a real badass (marvel at how she deals with the granddaughter's boyfriend) and the film is unrepentant in how it deals with the issue of abortion. Great multi-generational female characters.

Highly recommended.

Third vote for A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night. Just magnificent.

LOL MrsSnippyPants that's brilliant

Another film comes to mind, on a feminist theme, the absolutely brilliant

The Witch

trailer here

Not just a horror film, this is a film about fear of the feminine and the female body (the menarche of the main charater resonating with the blood squirting from a goat's teat) in a patriarchal society, where a family is outcast into the dark, scary wood and the partriarch / father struggles to provide for his family.

This is a very scary film, all about female rage. Obvioulsy not for everyone but I love it.

I'm glad hoodathunkit mentioned Alien; gives me an excuse to post this

I don't think anyone has mentioned Precious so far

Apart from anything else an important film as it depicted the horrifying life experiences of an abused and neglected 16 year old girl that are far from uncommon but that had never before been depicted

I have not watched the entire linked youtube version of the Love Witch, just realised that the audio is missing from the 1st 4 1/2 minutes then it kicks in

There is a fair amout of nudity in the film

There may be audio missing later?

Between 44.15 - 49.40 a creepy sex cult leader appears - readers may wish to skip the film and just watch this section (it includes some "erotic" dancing by a nearly naked woman)

It includes a remarkably accurate depiction of the discourses and strategies promoted by sex cults involved in sex trafficking, so definitely of interest to feminists

Definitely not a film for everyone, and it is flawed in many ways, but Teeth, a film about a young woman who discovers her vagina is capable of castrating sexually violating men, is definitely a film of interest to feminists intersted in analysing discourses relating to consent.

It is a dark, body horror film that young women especially seem to enjoy and that has men of all ages crossing their legs.

Another film of interest to feminists is The Love Witch. It is marketed as a feminst film, frankly I do not see it as such at all. To me, with my interest in cults, it is an example of an appropriation of feminism for a non-feminist agenda.

The film is fascinating for its highly accurate depiction of sex cults promoting protitution under the guise of "tantra" and "shamanism". Also for its depiction of a deluded, narcisistic, selfish control freak of a woman using sex to manipulate people and spending all her life reading about astrology, tarot cards etc. and creating various potions by which to control people. She happily murders people and is ruthless aboutdealing with female rivals. None of these things are feminist traits in my opinon and I think that both the film itself and the marketing of the film are worthy of scrutiny by feminists.

Yeah, Pan's Labyrinth is fucking brilliant.

Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Note the subtle difference in the real title) is the latest from Celine Sciamma who is always worth a watch.

Her earlier stuff includes Water Lillies about adolsecent girls in synchro swimming and their developing friendships. Tomboy is a sort of trans-kid tale about a new girl at school who passes as a boy. Girlhood is about French Afro-Girls and their cameraderie.

All three are about girls growing up.

I was about to suggest "Portrait of a lady on fire". A woman breaking convention by being a painter, and a lesbian romance develops. There are some lovely scenes where 3 women, one a maid, manage to create a space of support and equality between each other despite the culture surrounding them.

Persepolis. Coming of age film set against the revolution in Iran.
Celine and Julie go boating. 1970s French time travelling ghost film.

Portrait of a lady on fire
Pariah
The fits

Not a feminist film but a film relevant to feminists is the incredible Tyrannosaur

A painfully accurate depiction of DV and outstanding performances from Peter Mullan and Oiivia Coleman, this film had me in tears, it was so moving

trailer here

Another wonderful film that feminists might enjoy is the highly acclaimed, low budget art film Frozen River, depicting an unlikely friendship between 2 women both in precarious situations and turning to people smuggling to put food on the table. I love this film for many reasons, not least of which are the strong central female characters, and I think readers here will like it too

trailer here

A couple of films on a WWII theme

A French language film Les Femmes de L'ombre (Female Agents)

Trailer here

I really enjpyed this film and anyone who enjoys strong female characters may also enjoy it. It is based in real events although some of the plot devices are incredible. Some people familiar with the use of firearms have been extremely critical of the depiction of how firearms are used in the film, so if you are someone who is familiar with guns and have a pedantic nature this film may be extremely annoying. I don't know one end of a gun from another so it didn't stop me from enjoying it.

Contains extremely violent scenes including graphic scenes of torture. Not for everyone

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet

Carve Her Name With Pride

Carve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British war drama film based on the book of the same name by R.J. Minney.

The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, is based on the true story of Special Operations Executive agent Violette Szabo, GC, who was captured and executed while serving in Nazi-occupied France.

During World War II, a recently widowed young woman is recruited to work as a spy in France.

You can find out more about Violette Szabo by following the link below:
www.violette-szabo-museum.co.uk/

available in full on youtube here

Also, for strong female characters and multifaceted, multilayered narratives and a departure from traditional, patriarchal narratives in fairly tales Pan's Labyrinth is a beutiful, disturbing, thought provoking film.

Ofelia, the little girl who is the central character is beautifully portrayed, I also love the character of Mercedes, incredibly brave, determined and clever.

Like most of my favourite films, Pan's Labyrinth has many scary, disturbing and violent scenes so not for everyone.

Posters have mentioned the characters Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs and Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Both characters were based on a real life serial killer called Ed Gein

There are lots of extremely disturbing videos and photos of Gein's victims and trophies on the internet so please be careful to put safe search on if you are interested in finding out more about him.

He was also the inspiration behind the Norman Bates character in Psycho