Friday, January 23, 2004
This Is What Happens...
…when I get to see so many films, none of which are by or about white men.
I saw Silent Waters today, directed by a woman from Pakistan named Sabiha Sumar. As a film it was stunning. But this isn’t why I am writing today.
First, let me tell you about the film. The story, about a woman and her son, mostly takes place in 1979 when Islamic martial law was enacted in Pakistan. As the film unfolds, the woman, Ayesha, has flashbacks to 1947 when Pakistan was separated from India. Each time she has a flashback, you see more of her story but we don’t see its entirety until the end of the movie.
Ayesha is probably 50 with warm, bright, loving eyes. She cares for her son and teaches Islam to young girls in her town. We see her celebrating the wedding of a friend’s daughter and helping another friend make clothes for the other young women in town.
Then two men come into town to spread the word about Islamic law and to get young men to “fight for Pakistan”. Her son joins these men and this drives a wedge between Ayesha and her son.
I won’t spoil this film for you but suffice it to say that in 1947 and in 1979 women are the currency of hatred.
See it.
I don’t, however, want you to see this and spend time pointing fingers at Islamic “extremists” or the Sikhs who would murder their women before “handing them over” to Muslims. I prefer to see this film as a mirror.
I am still crying about this movie. Yes, I’m grieved at the story that this film tells. I grieve for the women in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and everywhere else where women aren’t at the table when decisions are made about the law of the land.
But what grieves me more is that women still are mostly exluded from that table here in the United States. You doubt me? We have a lot of politicians who have no qualms with making a law about women’s health without consulting women. Whether you are pro or anti choice, doesn’t it strike you that there are no women in the picture as Bush signs a law that affects only women?
It’s not only Bush either. Take a look at your city council, Governor’s office, your state legislatures, our Congress, the slate of presidential candidates before us.
The same can be said for people of color, and I don’t mean only African-Americans.
It’s easy for me to get discouraged and I don’t mean for you to be discouraged by reading this. I find hope in manyplaces and people.
Vote.
I am writing because I want my niece, when she’s 50, to see a movie about how we turned our world around by coming to the table. I want to her to see that women are the currency of change in 2004.
I saw Silent Waters today, directed by a woman from Pakistan named Sabiha Sumar. As a film it was stunning. But this isn’t why I am writing today.
First, let me tell you about the film. The story, about a woman and her son, mostly takes place in 1979 when Islamic martial law was enacted in Pakistan. As the film unfolds, the woman, Ayesha, has flashbacks to 1947 when Pakistan was separated from India. Each time she has a flashback, you see more of her story but we don’t see its entirety until the end of the movie.
Ayesha is probably 50 with warm, bright, loving eyes. She cares for her son and teaches Islam to young girls in her town. We see her celebrating the wedding of a friend’s daughter and helping another friend make clothes for the other young women in town.
Then two men come into town to spread the word about Islamic law and to get young men to “fight for Pakistan”. Her son joins these men and this drives a wedge between Ayesha and her son.
I won’t spoil this film for you but suffice it to say that in 1947 and in 1979 women are the currency of hatred.
See it.
I don’t, however, want you to see this and spend time pointing fingers at Islamic “extremists” or the Sikhs who would murder their women before “handing them over” to Muslims. I prefer to see this film as a mirror.
I am still crying about this movie. Yes, I’m grieved at the story that this film tells. I grieve for the women in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and everywhere else where women aren’t at the table when decisions are made about the law of the land.
But what grieves me more is that women still are mostly exluded from that table here in the United States. You doubt me? We have a lot of politicians who have no qualms with making a law about women’s health without consulting women. Whether you are pro or anti choice, doesn’t it strike you that there are no women in the picture as Bush signs a law that affects only women?
It’s not only Bush either. Take a look at your city council, Governor’s office, your state legislatures, our Congress, the slate of presidential candidates before us.
The same can be said for people of color, and I don’t mean only African-Americans.
It’s easy for me to get discouraged and I don’t mean for you to be discouraged by reading this. I find hope in manyplaces and people.
Vote.
I am writing because I want my niece, when she’s 50, to see a movie about how we turned our world around by coming to the table. I want to her to see that women are the currency of change in 2004.
...And Back Down to Earth
Spent the majority of my first film yesterday, Redemption, teary-eyed and crying. This was one powerful film and I truly hope that you get to see it. Redemption is about the man, Tookie Williams who started the gang The Crips and the work he’s doing now to turn young people away from gangs.
Redemption was directed by the African-American actor, Vondie Curtis Hall. His visual story is as compelling as the actual story-he uses color, film grainyness and time elapsed film to move you through the main character’s life.
Other things I loved about this movie included:
The strong female lead character portraying Professor Barbara Becnel as, eventually, Tookie’s advocate, partner in his work, and friend
The hope for a gang-violence free future that this film offers the youth of today around the world.
My next film was Edge of America by noted Native American filmmaker, Chris Eyre (who directed Smoke Signals a number of years ago). Basically, it’s a story about an African American man who goes to an Indian reservation to teach English composition at Three Nations High School. He eventually becomes the girls basketball coach and takes the team to the state championship.
I loved Smoke Signals and was hopeful about Edge of America. I wasn’t disappointed but this film didn’t quite rise to the level that Smoke Signals did.
As is typical for Chris Eyre, this film has several morals and it lacks the typical Hollywood ending. I love that. I also loved the acting, especially James McDaniel.
What was missing for me this time around was the depth that Smoke Signals had. In addition, there were distracting loose ends that never got addressed by the end of the movie.
See it, if for no other reason, to get a different perspective than you usually get in your movie-going experience. There are few white people in this film and the women and girls are presented realistically—as strong, brave and intelligent.
My last movie of the Thursday was D.E.B.S. I am praying to the gods of film distribution to get this out into the world. It is a completely campy, fun and wholly entertaining film about young women recruited out of high school to be this country’s first line of defense against the evil in the world.
Anytime there are movies about strong capable women, especially in crime-fighting movies, directors always tease us with hints of a lesbian sub-text but it never comes to fruition.
D.E.B.S. gives it all up. And it’s safe for your 13-year old to see it. Yes, it just got rated as PG-13. My face hurt after that film because I was grinning because it was so much fun. Susan and I even went up to the director, Angela Robinson to congratulate her on this film and thank her for making a lesbian film where it’s just a matter of fact and the lesbian isn’t crazy, a drug addict, a sex addict, a serial killer, or child abuser.
On the way back to our hotel, Susan and I chatted with a woman named Linda who works for MGM in “acquisitions”. This means that she’s here at Sundance to buy, buy, buy. She was fun to talk to because she’s been to other festivals and she’s knowledgeable about what’s out, what’s coming out, and what’s good.
Just about everyone at this festival is like this—easy to approach and talk to. I’ve talked to up and coming producers, film makers, minor actors, film students, studio reps, New York Times journalists, as well as locals. All of them are friendly and down to earth. Not to say that there isn’t some level of snootiness but who cares about that when you have so many other wonderful people to talk to.
My first movie this morning, Easy started with a delightful short called Dysenchanted. I’ve seen a few shorts and they’ve been good but not so memorable. Dysenchanted is memorable. It’s a support group that has women like Cinderella, Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz), Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and other female fairy tale characters. Oh, and one modern divorced woman with PMS and children with ADD. It’s witty as well as reflective of life for middle class women in this country. I wish there were more short film venues.
I hate doing this but I want you to clear your mind of preconceptions of the words I’m about to use. I would describe Easy as an intelligent chick flick with depth and character. I know, I hate that word and I dislike most films in the chick flick category. But Easy isn’t easy and isn’t simple and isn’t fluff.
It’s about a young woman who is, in her own words, a “jerk magnet”. She struggles to find herself until she has a crisis that doesn’t turn her life around but points it in a slightly different direction.
Easy feels long (it’s only 99 minutes) because it has a slow & quiet pace, but it is artfully directed by Jane Weinstock. I recommend renting it if you get antsy for action in films you like.
I’m off to lunch. Later today is Silent Waters. Tomorrow holds promise for three films that are somewhat undetermined. We don’t need tickets for Saturday and Sunday because we have Awards Weekend Passes. Stay tuned though!
PS Here are some photos that I've taken so far.
Redemption was directed by the African-American actor, Vondie Curtis Hall. His visual story is as compelling as the actual story-he uses color, film grainyness and time elapsed film to move you through the main character’s life.
Other things I loved about this movie included:
The strong female lead character portraying Professor Barbara Becnel as, eventually, Tookie’s advocate, partner in his work, and friend
The hope for a gang-violence free future that this film offers the youth of today around the world.
My next film was Edge of America by noted Native American filmmaker, Chris Eyre (who directed Smoke Signals a number of years ago). Basically, it’s a story about an African American man who goes to an Indian reservation to teach English composition at Three Nations High School. He eventually becomes the girls basketball coach and takes the team to the state championship.
I loved Smoke Signals and was hopeful about Edge of America. I wasn’t disappointed but this film didn’t quite rise to the level that Smoke Signals did.
As is typical for Chris Eyre, this film has several morals and it lacks the typical Hollywood ending. I love that. I also loved the acting, especially James McDaniel.
What was missing for me this time around was the depth that Smoke Signals had. In addition, there were distracting loose ends that never got addressed by the end of the movie.
See it, if for no other reason, to get a different perspective than you usually get in your movie-going experience. There are few white people in this film and the women and girls are presented realistically—as strong, brave and intelligent.
My last movie of the Thursday was D.E.B.S. I am praying to the gods of film distribution to get this out into the world. It is a completely campy, fun and wholly entertaining film about young women recruited out of high school to be this country’s first line of defense against the evil in the world.
Anytime there are movies about strong capable women, especially in crime-fighting movies, directors always tease us with hints of a lesbian sub-text but it never comes to fruition.
D.E.B.S. gives it all up. And it’s safe for your 13-year old to see it. Yes, it just got rated as PG-13. My face hurt after that film because I was grinning because it was so much fun. Susan and I even went up to the director, Angela Robinson to congratulate her on this film and thank her for making a lesbian film where it’s just a matter of fact and the lesbian isn’t crazy, a drug addict, a sex addict, a serial killer, or child abuser.
On the way back to our hotel, Susan and I chatted with a woman named Linda who works for MGM in “acquisitions”. This means that she’s here at Sundance to buy, buy, buy. She was fun to talk to because she’s been to other festivals and she’s knowledgeable about what’s out, what’s coming out, and what’s good.
Just about everyone at this festival is like this—easy to approach and talk to. I’ve talked to up and coming producers, film makers, minor actors, film students, studio reps, New York Times journalists, as well as locals. All of them are friendly and down to earth. Not to say that there isn’t some level of snootiness but who cares about that when you have so many other wonderful people to talk to.
My first movie this morning, Easy started with a delightful short called Dysenchanted. I’ve seen a few shorts and they’ve been good but not so memorable. Dysenchanted is memorable. It’s a support group that has women like Cinderella, Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz), Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and other female fairy tale characters. Oh, and one modern divorced woman with PMS and children with ADD. It’s witty as well as reflective of life for middle class women in this country. I wish there were more short film venues.
I hate doing this but I want you to clear your mind of preconceptions of the words I’m about to use. I would describe Easy as an intelligent chick flick with depth and character. I know, I hate that word and I dislike most films in the chick flick category. But Easy isn’t easy and isn’t simple and isn’t fluff.
It’s about a young woman who is, in her own words, a “jerk magnet”. She struggles to find herself until she has a crisis that doesn’t turn her life around but points it in a slightly different direction.
Easy feels long (it’s only 99 minutes) because it has a slow & quiet pace, but it is artfully directed by Jane Weinstock. I recommend renting it if you get antsy for action in films you like.
I’m off to lunch. Later today is Silent Waters. Tomorrow holds promise for three films that are somewhat undetermined. We don’t need tickets for Saturday and Sunday because we have Awards Weekend Passes. Stay tuned though!
PS Here are some photos that I've taken so far.
