Films which just fill you with feminist happiness

[legoplayingmumsunite]

To counterbalance the 'films which just annoy you', and to give GarlicReverses some good recommendations. Since she asked for action movies and political intrigue here are my starters:

Nothing But the Truth
The Hunger Games
FoxFire
Lore

[duchesse]

Calendar Girls.

[legoplayingmumsunite]

All Studio Ghibli films. Lilo and Stitch is my favourite feminist Disney film still despite the more recent princess movies. Wizard of Oz.

Mike Leigh always has lots of interesting women in his films. DH and I watched Another Year recently and it passed the Bechdel several times in the first 5 minutes.

A bit obscure but I really enjoyed 'The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mum'. It's a coming of age film but it's about a 13 year old girl so her 'coming of age' is to do with the start of her periods (rather than losing her virginity) and it's all about her relationship with her Mum after she finds out she's adopted.

I've not seen it yet but Beasts of the Southern Wild is suppose to be fabulous.

[eagerbeagle]

9 to 5 (with a rocking theme tune to boot).

I quite like dogma too, particularly when god turns out to be a woman and Jay and Silent Bob are pro choice: "woman's body's her own f** king business"

[Mignonette]

How about Desperately Seeking Susan?

Rosanna Arquette breaks out of her suburban dumbed down existence and Madonna- well she is Madonna.

I loved Mystic Pizza even though it isn't totally feminist but it did introduce the idea that girls wanted sex but not marriage in a trad Portugese -American community.

[TheWanderingUterus]

There is also another drama on 4od from the 90s, quite gentle and not overly dramatic called 'behaving badly'.

It stars Judi Dench as a middle aged woman divorced by her husband who decides to not do what is expected of her by society (live quietly on her own). I haven't ever seen anything quite like it and it wasn't entirely what I was expecting but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[ithaka]

I love Volver - strong hard working women across the generations. Also it looks so beautiful.

[TulipOHare]

Thelma and Louise isn't really feminist as the main characters after running off die in the end, the ultimate punishment

They do die, but it's not a punishment, I don't think. It's not the film saying "look what happens to transgressive women, serves them right!"

I always (and it's one of my favourite films, has been since my teens, I've seen it countless times) read it as an indictment of the society that brought T&L to that cliff and left them no option other than death or a long jail sentence.

I would also suggest Aliens, and maybe Terminator (been years since I've seen it though).

[Quagmiretwins]

Shame?
Really depressing film though.

[Quagmiretwins]

Testament of Youth (TV series about Vera Brittain, from her book). About being a feminist during WW1. Can't recommend book and series enough.

[ProfondoRosso]

Shame in what way, Quagmire? I'm v interested. I could see it as feminist through the fact that it democratizes and de-sexualizes portrayal of the body (because though it's about sex, it sure ain't sexy! )

I like what Steve McQueen does a lot. I think the way he films the body is very open, like in Hunger you could say he de-politicizes Bobby Sands by treating him (or Michael Fassbender at least) as pure material body, asking us to identify with the universality of human pain, not politics.

[Quagmiretwins]

Sorry Profondo, I didn't mean that film. What's the name of that fairly traumatic Australian film where the young men are supported by the middle of nowhere community in raping girls, one of whom dies when jumping out of a car to escape, and a lone woman visitor on a motorbike manages to change things?

[stubbornstains]

Seconding Studio Ghibli films, especially Kiki's Delivery Service.

[dyslexicdespot]

Fucking Amal- Swedish coming of age movie.
Ronia the robbers daughter - an other Swedish movie based off of an Astrid Lindgren book.
Serenity- a Joss wedon film.
The golden compass- the books are better.
The wizard if oz.
oh god, this is hard...

[legoplayingmumsunite]

Seconding Studio Ghibli films, especially Kiki's Delivery Service.

I think Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the few films that fails the reverse Bechdel Test. I love that when you watch it for the first time you get caught out because you expect some characters to be male (the artist in the wood) and then your expectations are completely messed with.

[Dappydongle]

9 to 5

[scallopsrgreat]

The Help? Haven't seen it but read the book.

[ProfondoRosso]

Daah, sorry for the mix up, Quagmire!

The film you're talking about sounds very interesting.

[MardyBra]

Women on the verge of Nervous Breakdown.

[gallicgirl]

Riding in cars with boys.
Almost anything involving Jodie Foster

There's a film called Hard Boiled Sweets which isn't really feminist in that it's a typical East End gangster film, but it has a nice twist at the end.

Whale Rider is awesome and should be watched by every teen girl.

[StealthPolarBear]

the war that started tomorrow (or something like that)
Main role is female, strong leader but not unrealistically perfect
Another woman saves a man's life and carries him back to where they're sheltering. They're all impressed she carried him but not particularly because she's a female iyswim.

[stargirl1701]

Alien
Aliens
Terminator 2

[Selks]

The Help
The Colour Purple
Run Lola Run
Winters Bone
Frozen River
The Handmaids Tale
Frida

[Selks]

Seraphine
La Vie En Rose
Manon des Sources
Raise the Red Lantern

[DawnOfTheDee]

The Descent? Has almost an entirely female cast.