Films with a feminist angle

OH - how could I forget? Another TV series, but unabashedly feminist (and just brilliant): Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

I remember reading that David Shwimmer was an advocate for women...IIRC he sits on the board of a Rape Crisis Centre, so I am not surprised he features in feminist productions. I really want to see the People vs. OJ. now.

Oh, and agree that The People vs OJ Simpson takes a very feminist angle on the story - not just the way Marcia Clark was treated, but the focus on the way domestic violence is minimised and excused.

Persepolis. An animated film set in Iran during the revolution. It's about a young woman and how she refuses to conform to the regime.

Howard’s End is a great film and an interesting period piece - essentially about toxic masculinity, with wonderful performances from Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter and Vanessa Redgrave.

As superhero movies go, I found Wonder Woman didn’t live up to the hype as a feminist film - way too much male gaze (the scene where she tries on cute little outfits in a department store ffs), and set in WWI for no reason that I could see except that it excused every other main character being male.

Captain Marvel on the other hand, I loved. A rare film that didn’t indulge in male gaze and works as a fantastic parable about female socialisation and how it oppresses us.

I’ll second the earlier suggestions of Steel Magnolias, Pitch Perfect, Spy, Bridesmaids, Mad Max Fury Road, Monster, Erin Brockovich, Thelma and Louise, Ladybird etc - as pp have said, not all strictly speaking “feminist” films, but fabulous films with well written and performed female leads.

Also - Mean Girls, Sense and Sensibility and Can You Ever Forgive Me?

First Wives Club

Rosie if you get a chance, maybe watch the mini series Cross of Fire on Prime. It is based on a true story, where a Literacy teacher in Indiana in the twenties was tortured by a very high up member of the Ku Klux Klan. She poisoned herself to escape, and her testimony before she died helped to bring down the KKK in the Deep South of America. It was groundbreaking TV back in the eighties...I was thrilled to rediscover it!😃

The secret life of Bees and Twentieth century women.

Captain Marvel, if you want something light and easy to watch.

...and also Corpo Celeste ( Italian with english sub-titles). a wonderfully atmospheric coming of age tale, set in Calabria, southern Italy. Again, suitable for adults and for teenagers. wonderfully observed and with a fantastic performance by the girl who plays Marta, the central character.

Thirteen year-old Marta has recently moved back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister. Marta struggles to find her place, restlessly testing the boundaries of an unfamiliar city and the catechism of the Catholic church

I really enjoyed this film Whale Rider about a 12 year old Maori girl. (Suitable for both adults and teenagers. It's ultimately very up-lifting).

Only males are allowed to ascend to chiefdom in a Maori tribe in New Zealand. This ancient custom is upset when the child selected to be the next chief dies at birth. However his twin sister, Pai, survives. At age 12, she enlists the help of her grandmother and the training of her uncle to claim her birthright. But to break with convention, she'll have to do the impossible: win over her ultra-traditional grandfather

Hidden Figures is absolutely awesome and I like Erin Brockovich, too.

Little Women

Lady Macbeth - also starting Florence Pugh. Similar set up to Lady Chatterley's Lover but turns very dark

The source material pre-dates Lady Chatterley's Lover by about 75 years. It's based on a novel , Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, by Nikolai Leskov. Shostakovich turned into a brilliant opera.

Re films A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/24/a-girl-walks-home-alone-at-night-review-mark-kermode

and The Breadwinner are fabulous and avoid that "sisters together" vibe which I find a bit toe curling.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/27/the-breadwinner-review-nora-twomey-deborah-ellis-kabul

Wild Rose with Jessie Buckley and Julie Walters is great too. It's a film about the lives of Jessie Buckley and to some extent her mother. It's not pushing a feminist agenda, just telling their story, in which men are absent or peripheral.

Ginger Snaps is a very clever and very funny werewolf movie featuring a female werewolf and her sensible little sister.

Niki Caro, the director of North Country, also made Whale Rider, about a young Maori girl who wants to become chief of her tribe and who feels it is her destiny (as it is to ride whales) in spite of the opposition she faces for being female. It is a gorgeous movie. Just a lovely family drama with real heart.

terrigrey - was it the Carey Mulligan version? I loved that and also the remake of Testament of Youth is a good one.

Thanks @Gwynfluff! I have Netflix so can check it out, and your other recommendations

In addition to the great titles already mentioned, Daughters of the Dust is outstanding.

Far from The Madding Crowd - love love the latest version of that with what's her face in it.

Just about the say Hidden Figures, great film.

@TooMinty was streaming on Netflix.

Ladybird is also on Netflix and is incredible. The Wife has also been on and is so good for exposing patriarchal impact! Very subtle but brilliant.

Portrait of a woman is meant to be spectacular.

Pieces of Me - recent doc on Toni Morrison was amazing!

Hidden Numbers is fun but brilliant.

Rafiki - film about lesbian couple in Kenya - female director refused to change the ending so it got banned in Kenya

I've recently watched Hidden Figures, about the black women who worked for the NASA's space missions in the 1960s. Really enjoyed it. It didn't only shine a light on the racism, but the sexism too that these women had to fight against on a daily basis.

The second legally blind film doesn’t measure up though. Are you looking for action movies? As a PP said the latest Mad Max movie is almost a feminist parable. There is also Pride and Prejudice With Zombies if you like that kind of thing.

Oh yes Legally Blonde is a great film

And I love Legally Blonde. As a frequently underestimated blonde, it was great! And reversing the tired trope of women being horrible to each other, which I love.