So fed up with watching films with no decent female roles - please give me your recommendations

[whatsinanumber]

Watched yet another 'classic' film tonight in which the occasional (beautiful) woman flitted on screen either grieving for a man or being seduced by one, the rest was just a bunch of guys shooting at each other. I don't know what the actual percentage of the films I've watched in my life that have been like that but, thinking about it tonight, it feels absurdly high. I know this is much discussed but watching films with teenage DDs I'm just reminded how few films there seem to be with fully-formed girls and women in them who aren't just there to look hot. I started googling 'female empowering films' and got stuff like Superwoman and, while I don't have a problem with Superwoman, that's not really what I'm after - I don't especially need to be showing my daughters films in which the women kick ass and beat all the men in fights, or being heroes in some other capacity. They don't need to be all about women, I just want there to be nuanced girls and women on screen being part of what's going on, having conversations etc.

I'm sure they are out there, I'm just all out of ideas and would love to have a list on hand for when we are choosing films as a family. So if you have any favourite films with great female characters please share!

Going to bed shortly but pick this up again in the morning. Thanks in advance

Star Wars - loads of strong amazing women all through it, especially Leia and Rey. My girls are obsessed. I know you said about superhero films not being your thing but sometimes characters transcend the genre to become role models because the women who play them are extraordinary.

Daisy Ridley is fantastic in this - The Young Woman and the Sea

m.youtube.com/watch?v=7tNvrYzPUrk

Corpo Celeste - directed by Alice Rohrwacher - is a beautiful, moving, coming of age film, made in Italian ( with subtitles) set in Reggio de Calabria. One of my personal favourite coming of age films

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

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1886502/

The Children Act. With Emma Thompson (sorry about that) - I have only watched a bit but it seems a good role.
The Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Feel good. Woman novellist in the 40s.

Wadjda - film about a Saudi 10 year old girl who wants a bicycle, (when Saudi girls aren't allowed bikes). Lovely, positive films out a strong minded girl.

Older films worth seeing:

Tea with Mussolini
Mermaids (both have Cher in)

A series worth watching is the Last of Us. One of the things that made it a great computer game is that the female characters were so interesting - it was years ahead of its time when it came out.

Frozen
Made in Dagenham

How strange I thought it absolute rubbish!

But beautifully filmed especially in terms of the landscape, geography.

Odd as it sounds, the third film in the original Bourne trilogy has an extremely strong female character played by Joan Allen.

I wouldn't pick these for viewing with teenagers, but Tilda Swinton in The Eternal Daughter and A Room Next Door - hardly a man to be seen .

Relatively recent films with positive female roles for teens:

Inside Out 2
Twisters
Ordinary Angels
The Lost King
The Woman King
The Heretic

I'd forgotten about The Children Act, but yes - very good suggestion.

Mommy (2014)
Substance 2024

Young Woman and the Sea, film about Trudy Ederle who became the first woman to swim the channel in 1926. So inspiring, I cried. Daisy Ridley is brilliant in it.

Tracks is brilliant. The book is fantastic too

Which reminds......

Whale Rider.....another coming of age story..."A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize". Beautiful film.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298228/

The Woman King, starring fabulous Viola Davis as the leader of the women warriors of Dahomey. Terrific story, based on real historical events.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_King
The Woman King is a 2022 American historical action-adventure film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. Set in the 1820s, the film stars Viola Davis as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies. It is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Dana Stevens, based on a story she wrote with Maria Bello.

Thanks for the Quiz Girl recommendation upthread. We watched it at the weekend and loved it.

Sigourney weaver in the Alien franchise is just the complete cure to all this sexist shit, I feel so empowered after watching her.

Two comedy series with short episodes and excellent women, Schitt's Creek and Brooklyn 99.

Another comedy series with strong women characters is Derry Girls.

Derry Girls is a fantastic suggestion. Written by Derry woman Lisa McGee, it's about a group of teenage girls growing up in The Troubles in the 90s. It will honestly make you laugh and cry , and an interesting eye opener for us in Great Britain (IMHO as an Englishwoman who lived in Belfast for a few years).
It's Netflix and channel 4od

Also - crouching tiger hidden dragon - Michelle Yeoh kicking butt.
And old school crime series - prime suspect with helen mirren.

Atomic Blonde. Charlize kicks ass.

Coming on here to say that - brilliant scene in the toilets 🚻 👏