The Fairer Film: Female Directors Marathon

[Bondo]

With my other marathons finishing up, I wanted one new one to focus myself on amid anything else that catches my fancy during the year, and one thing I've really wanted to do is focus myself on looking more deeply into the works of female directors. So I'll use this to try something from those I haven't experienced yet or to dig deeper into the filmographies of those I have. Feel free to mention directors you reckon I'm overlooking, though some of the more prominent I've either seen most of their small filmographies or am not keen to see more.

The Results of Feminism (Alice Guy, 1906) 4/5
Suspense (Lois Weber, 1913) 4/5
How Men Propose (Lois Weber, 1913) 2/5
Hypocrites (Lois Weber, 1915) 5/5
Eleanor's Catch (Cleo Madison, 1916) 1/5
Where Are My Children? (Lois Weber, 1916) 5/5
Too Wise Wives (Lois Weber, 1921) 3/5
The Blot (Lois Weber, 1921) 4/5
The Smiling Madame Beudet (Germaine Dulac, 1923)
Maedchen In Uniform (Leontine Sagan, 1931)
Craig's Wife (Dorothy Arzner, 1936)
Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938)

Meshes In The Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943) 1/5
Not Wanted (Ida Lupino, 1949)
Bad Girls Go To Hell 3/5
Another Day, Another Man (Doris Wishman, 1966-67) 1/5
Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970)
A New Leaf (Elaine May, 1971)
The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani, 1974)
Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmueller, 1975)
The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko, 1977)
My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979)
Chilly Scenes of Winter (Joan Micklin Silver, 1979)
36 Chowringhee Lane (Aparna Sen, 1981)
The Slumber Party Massacre (Amy Holden Jones, 1982)
Boat People (Ann Hui, 1982)
Variety (Bette Gordon, 1983) 2/5
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)

Kung-fu Master! (Agnes Varda, 1988) 3/5

Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, 1988)

Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989)
Europa, Europa (Agnieszka Holland, 1990)
An Angel At My Table (Jane Campion, 1990) 2/5
Awakenings (Penny Marshall, 1990) 4/5
Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)
Proof (Jocelyn Moorhouse, 1991)

Bhaji on the Beach (Gurinder Chadha, 1993)

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (Mira Nair, 1996)

I Shot Andy Warhol (Mary Harron, 1996) 3/5
Sudden Manhattan (Adrienne Shelly, 1996)
What’s Cooking? (Gurinder Chadha, 2000)

The Slow Business of Going (Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2000)
The Song of the Lark (Karen Arthur, 2001)
Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis, 2001)
Sugar Sweet (Desiree Lim, 2001) 2/5
The Gleaners and I: 2 Years Later (Agnes Varda, 2002)

Open Hearts (Suzanne Bier, 2002) 5/5

My Life Without Me (Isabel Coixet, 2003)
The Inner/Outer World of Shahrukh Khan (Nasreen Munni Kabir, 2004)

The Quiet (Jamie Babbit, 2005)

Puccini for Beginners (Maria Maggenti, 2006)

Autism Every Day (Lauren Thierry, 2006)
2 Days In Paris (Julie Delpy, 2007)

Caramel (Nadine Labaki, 2007)

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (Kim Longinotto, 2007)

Om Shanti Om (Farah Khan, 2007)
 3/5
Jellyfish (Shira Geffen, 2007) 3/5
The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008)

The Wedding Song (Karin Albou, 2008)
 2/5
Good Dick (Marianna Palka, 2008)
Firaaq (Nandita Das, 2008)
Partly Private (Danae Elon, 2009)
Straightlaced (Debra Chasnoff, 2009)
Creative Nonfiction (Lena Dunham, 2009) 2/5
Nothing Personal (Urszula Antoniak, 2009) 2/5
The Tree (Julie Bertuccelli, 2010) 3/5
Cool It (Ondi Timoner, 2010) 4/5
The Tempest (Julie Taymor, 2010)
The Whistleblower (Larysa Kondracki, 2010) 2/5
It’s A Wonderful Afterlife (Gurinder Chandha, 2010)
My Little Princess (Eva Ionesco, 2011) 3/5
Girl Model (Ashley Sabin, 2011)
Higher Ground (Vera Farmiga, 2011)
A Little Bit of Heaven (Nicole Kassell, 2011)
Goodbye First Love (Mia Hansen-Love, 2011)
Take This Waltz (Sarah Polley, 2011)
Tomboy (Celine Sciamma, 2011)
Pariah (Dee Rees, 2011) 4/5
Elles (Malgorzata Szumowska, 2011)
She Monkeys (Lisa Aschan, 2011)
Turn Me On, Dammit (Jannicke Systad Jacobsen, 2011)
Wuthering Heights (Andrea Arnold, 2011) 2/5
The Adopted (Melanie Laurent, 2011)
The Apple Pushers (Mary Mazzio, 2011) 4/5

[MartinTeller]

My two favorites are An Angel at My Table (already on your list) and Innocence (one of the few films we have a mutual adoration for).  Some of my other faves, I dunno which ones you've seen:

Jellyfish (Shira Geffen, but co-directed with her husband so I dunno if it fits your parameters)
36 Chowringhee Lane (Aparna Sen, not sure what you'd think of it)
Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley... I think you've seen it?)
La Bonheur (Agnes Varda... might be a better selection than Kung-fu Master, but I've never heard anything about that one)
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, film noir probably not your thing)
The Loveless (Kathryn Bigelow, although Near Dark and Point Break are probably more up your alley)
Orlando (Sally Potter, I think you'd dig it)
The Milk of Sorrow (Claudia Llosa, has some sexual/gender issues which ought to interest you, but you might find it too slow)


I'm ashamed to say I've only seen 8 on your list, and none of them newer than 1991.

[Bondo]

I'm ashamed to say I've only seen 8 on your list, and none of them newer than 1991.

Well, that's 8 more than I've seen

Seen Sita (didn't like it), Orlando (didn't like it) and The Milk of Sorrow (didn't like it). I considered Loveless but restricted the marathon to a maximum of two per director (which also rules out La Bonheur...Kung-fu Master was specifically recommended to me)

I liked Mr. and Mrs. Iyer so I'll give 36 Chowringhee Lane a go. Jellyfish sounds good too.

[oneaprilday]

Great looking list, Bondo! I've seen only 6 of those - so many others I've wanted to catch up with.  Really looking forward to your write-ups on this marathon.

[worm@work]

Love the list, Bondo. A few others I'd like to recommend:

Maren Ade : The Forest for the Trees and Everyone Else
Lucrecia Martel: The Headless Woman
Teresa Villaverde: Transe

I can't seem to recall which of the Denis films you've watched already. In general, either sdedalus or roujin should be able to recommend some Ann Hui. Also, have you already watched Elaine May's films?

[sdedalus]

Not me for Ann Hui, that'd have to be roujin.

Ishtar!

[oneaprilday]

Love the list, Bondo. A few others I'd like to recommend:

Maren Ade : Everyone Else

I second this rec.

[Bondo]

Love the list, Bondo. A few others I'd like to recommend:

Maren Ade : The Forest for the Trees and Everyone Else
Lucrecia Martel: The Headless Woman
Teresa Villaverde: Transe

I can't seem to recall which of the Denis films you've watched already. In general, either sdedalus or roujin should be able to recommend some Ann Hui. Also, have you already watched Elaine May's films?

Saw Everyone Else; it was fine. The Headless Woman is on the list already Ines Efron! I'll look into the other two films.

Only Denis I've seen was 35 Shots of Rum, which I really did not like. Only Elaine May is Ishtar, which I promptly booted from the 80s US bracket.

[Lobby]

What a wonderful idea and a great list! I refuse to do marathons and get that systematic about my viewing. But I too would like to make an effort to look out for and hightlight more female directors. If we want a change in the gender bias in Hollywood we need to make an effort ourselves.

I'll definitely use this list as a reference point.

[goodguy]

Julia Loktev (Day Night Day Night)
Marianna Palka (Good Dick)
Adrienne Shelly (Sudden Manhattan, I'll Take You There)
Athina Rachel Tsangari (The Slow Business of Going, Attenberg)

From my Top 10 of 2011, but probably not your thing:
Nanouk Leopold (Brownian Movement)

And two favorite contemporary German directors of mine, but ditto:
Angela Schanelec (Passing Days, Marseille)
Maria Speth (The Days Between, Madonnas)

[Bondo]

Marianna Palka (Good Dick)
Adrienne Shelly (Sudden Manhattan)
Athina Rachel Tsangari (The Slow Business of Going)

Added these three. I like Shelly as both director (Waitress) and actress and also liked Attenberg so I figured they were reasonable chances. A lot of the other stuff seemed to be getting the label of being notably slow which can be a struggle for me so I'm gonna hold off for now.

[skjerva]

Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970) - A MUST
Variety (Bette Gordon, 1983) - pretty musty, too
La Ciénaga/The Swamp (Lucretia Martel, 2001) - if you are limiting to two per director, this one is equal to The Headless Woman

those are my faves that jump out as stuff you've likely have not seen, of course tons more (though i would put Le Bonheur in there, too, either as a third or a replacement

[Bondo]

Added the first two from your list but will see how Martel goes for me (with one of my favorite actresses in the cast) before I invest further there. As for Le Bonheur, this won't be my first two Varda and it probably won't be my last two Varda either. This marathon is already getting delightfully out of control.

14 of the films are on Netflix Instant and I've got another 6 that I'm gonna get to initially on DVD so it should have a pretty strong pace to start out. Filmspots will be top priority the next two months though.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

Some historically important films, and groundbreaking female directors, you need to see:
Les résultats du féminism (1906) Alice Guy
Where Are My Children? (1916) Lois Weber
La Souriante Madame Beudet (1923) Germaine Dulac
Mädchen in Uniform (1931) Leontine Sagan
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) Dorothy Arzner
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) Maya Deren
Death is a Caress (1950) Edith Carlmar
You should also watch something from Marie Menken as well as Danièle Huillet, but I can't begin to guess which, if any, of their films would work for you.

I'd also second The Hitch-Hiker (1953), though looking at a plot description maybe Outrage (1950) would be more up your alley.

[MartinTeller]

Mädchen in Uniform (1931) Leontine Sagan

I second this.  Very good film (and knowing Bondo's appreciation of sexual themes, the strongly implied lesbianism should be a draw).

I hate Maya Deren, and I'm pretty sure Bondo would too.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

I hate Maya Deren, and I'm pretty sure Bondo would too.

Maybe, it's the only film on my list I don't personally vouch for, besides Where Are My Children? which I haven't seen. Even so, you can't embark on an exploration of female directors and not watch at least one Maya Daren film. Plus it's only 15 minutes. At Land, also the same length, might be a better choice but I can't remember it.

[Bondo]

The Results of Feminism (Alice Guy, 1906)

Always nice to kick off a marathon with a 7 minute short available on youtube. This seemed rather ahead of its time as a comedic reversal, a world where the men are the domestics and tend to the children while the women loaf about, smoke and drink and presumably talk politics. The women are also the sexual aggressors. I reckon the ending is humorously fitting. All in all a fun way to start.

4/5

Suspense (Lois Weber, 1913)
Over at the TCM page where I watched this, the capsule said "her bravura filmmaking more than makes up for the plot" which is a statement that I'm almost never inclined to agree with. I'm not a big tech person (especially historic importance claims to tech) while I am big on plot/story. Still, as short films go, this thriller actually pulls it off pretty well in ten minutes. I mean, this is 1913, I can't imagine there had been too many car chases at that point in car history much less film history, and it is one that is good even by modern standards in camera placement. This might not one of the rare early/silent films that truly breaks through the ceiling on quality given the technical constraints of the time, but it does very well within the constraints.

4/5

Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943)

This short called to mind the shorts of Peter Greenaway that I watched last year. There is a symbolic repetition that has a lot in common with Greenaway's formalism. That said, Deren paints a moodier, more surreal world here contrasting to Greenaway's mechanical one. While it was reasonably advised that I would hate this, and I did, the advantage of short film is the pain doesn't last for long. I'd say that I didn't get what it means but I expect I'd be told that it is surreal, it isn't meant to mean, and I'd end up dismissing all of postmodern art again.

1/5

[Bondo]

The Tree (Julie Bertuccelli, 2010)

When I heard the basic plot synopsis, a father dies, leaving behind a wife Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and four children, including daughter Simone (Morgana Davies) who finds his spirit within a big tree next to their house, it definitely sounded like a sort of whimsy out of tragedy tale. Yet the film starts a little darker than I expected by focusing on Dawn's deep depression in the wake of her husband's death and it never really moved into the whimsy that could have easily felt cheap.

It is interesting watching the gender difference in the reactions painted here. The three boys seem almost unconcerned with their dad's death which contrasts with Dawn's depression and Simone's mystical denial and their mutual acceptance of the tree as spirit in one form or another. One expects the boys are burying the emotions, in manly fashion and this is alluded to, though we never really see evidence of it.

Anyway, various problems crop up, caused by the tree and it is interesting to think how they tie in with the story as metaphor. Is it coincidence that the night after Dawn has shared a brief romantic moment with a new man, George (Marton Csokas), part of the tree comes crashing down into her bedroom? Let's just say, Simone isn't exactly thrilled about this development as, unlike Dawn, she's a true believer.

Between this, Melancholia and Antichrist, Gainsbourg seems to be taking on a lot of roles as deeply depressed or anxious women. Though here it is a bit of a phase to be hinted at more than fully experienced. I feel like Simone's reaction is never quite fully manifested. Everything here is very competent and relatively fulfilling. There's a shot near the end that definitely works my curiosities about how it was made and as a whole it is a pretty film in its pastoral setting. It doesn't feel like a film that'll stick with me but overall a solid effort from Julie Bertuccelli.

3/5

[shuabert]

I presume you've seen Debra Granik's Winter's Bone, as it just came out a couple years ago, but if not I highly recommend it.

[Bondo]

I have, it is in my top-100 of all time. I also saw her earlier Down To The Bone. She's super great.