Feminist Tendencies
Feminism as a concept has gone in and out of vogue since the first suffragette demanded the right to vote, but throughout history there have always been remarkable women, prepared to claim their power in the name of a cause ('Ride to Freedom: The Rosa Parks Story', 'Veronica Guerin'), or just to rediscover their own self-worth ('Shirley Valentine', 'My Brilliant Career'). This collection does not only contain films about the political struggle of women to achieve equality ('Iron Jawed Angels'), if it did it would be a very short list because despite the fact that the rise of women in the workforce and in politics was one of the defining movements of the 20th century, very few films have been made on the subject - filmmaking being still a largely male-dominated pusuit. Now, as women are making films in greater numbers than ever, our own Niki Caro is a good example of someone ready and willing to tell a story about the oppression, and ultimate triumph of women in the 'post-feminist' 1980s ('North Country'). Perhaps women as an audience are now ready and willing to hear their own stories.
The Favourite (Blu-Ray) (2018)
7.7/10
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn, Mark Gatiss,...
In the early 18th century, England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne occupies... Read more
Libertarias (1996)
7.1/10
Director: Vicente Aranda
Starring: Miguel Bose, Ana Belen, Ariadna Gil
This big-budget Spanish drama pays tribute to the courageous women who sacrificed their lives during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Maria's peaceful l... Read more
Fried Green Tomatoes ( at the Whistle Stop Cafe ) (1991)
7.7/10
Director: Jon Avnet
Starring: Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker
An appealing, heartwarming, comedy-drama based on Fannie Flagg's 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe' about rural Alabama past and present... Read more
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000)
7.4/10
Director: Gillies MacKinnon
Starring: Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Leslie Caron, Olympia Dukakis, Cleo Laine, Joan Sims, Bill...
Recent widow, Elizabeth (Judi Dench), begins playing her tenor sax again, remembering back to when she was in an all-girl (almost) swing band back in... Read more
Brick Lane (2007)
6.7/10
Director: Sarah Gavron
Starring: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson, Zafreen , Naeema Beg...
Based on the best-selling novel by Monica Ali and telling the story of Nazneen, who at just seventeen years of age is taken from her Bangladeshi villa... Read more
Mask (1985)
7.2/10
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Starring: Cher , Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott
Based on a true story, Bogdanovich's account of a courageous teenager who suffers from a disease that enlarged his head, and who searches for love and... Read more
The Weather Underground (2002)
7.6/10
Director: Sam Green, Bill Siegel
Thirty years ago, a group of young American radicals called The Weathermen announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. Fueled by outra... Read more
Raw Deal: A Question of Consent (2001)
7.4/10
Director: Billy Corben
Do you know rape when you see it? Audiences have come to expect video footage to tell the truth, to shine a light on "what really happened". Exotic da... Read more
Postcards From The Edge (1990)
6.7/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid
Based on Carrie Fisher's best selling autobiographical novel and revolving around the caustic relationship between a mother and daughter and satirisin... Read more
The Contender (2000)
7/10
Director: Rod Lurie
Starring: Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Sam Elliott, Philip Baker Hall, Mariel Hemingway, Gary...
A taut political drama/thriller about a U.S. Democratic senator (Joan Allen) chosen by the President (Jeff Bridges) to replace a deceased Vice Preside... Read more