Day: November 9, 2019

Film Reviews, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews, Top 50 of the Decade, Women in Film

ITOL Top 50 Films of the Decade, Entry No. 42: The Love Witch

Anna Biller’s 2016 film, “The Love Witch”, is a magical, sensual exploration of female sexuality and empowerment. With stunning cinematography, set design and costume design, this film inspires praise for both it’s undeniable style and thought-provoking messages.

The film follows witch and burlesque dancer, Elaine on her quest to find true love. However, her outlook on men and their capability to love is concerning to her fellow witches, especially since many of Elaine’s intense love potions do not result in a happy ending of any kind. Continue reading ITOL Top 50 Films of the Decade, Entry No. 42: The Love Witch

Claire L. SmithLeave a comment
Female Characters, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Film Reviews, Indie Film, Reviews

Review: Love is Blind

“I really don’t know what’s real anymore,” Bess says in “Love is Blind” (2019). Much of this film revolves around the audience figuring out what is real rather than in Bess’s head. Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloom direct this quirky romantic dramedy about loneliness, grief, and healing. It has a solid cast and is an imaginative film, making it always engaging despite its wacky and sometimes hard-to-follow plot.

“Love is Blind,” written by Jennifer Schuur, is about a girl named Bess (Shannon Tarbet) who cannot see her mother (Chloe Sevigny) and believes that she passed away a decade ago. Through the course of the film, the audience realizes that her mother is very much alive but that her ‘selective blindness’ is Bess’s way of coping with a traumatic event in the past. Continue reading Review: Love is Blind

Nicole AckmanLeave a comment
Female Characters, Female Filmmakers, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Reviews, Women in Film

Review: Dark Whispers – Vol. 1

Before this review can proceed, a few significant stigmas need to be pointed out. The first one is how short films are seen to be inferior to feature-length films just due to the fact that they are short. While the second one is how female filmmakers are thought to be averse to genre filmmaking; particularly the horror genre. Nothing could be further from the truth, as these statements are fatuous, demeaning and stupid.

Anthologies and short films have been calling cards for many renowned filmmakers regardless of genre eg. Andrea Arnold’s Oscar-winning short film Wasp (2003); while female filmmakers have been making many stellar examples of genre filmmaking — eg. Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook (2014), Mary Harron’s “American Psycho” (2000), Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” (2017) and many, many more. Continue reading Review: Dark Whispers – Vol. 1

Harris DangLeave a comment