ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

loren king

Movie of the Week 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 1, 2022: CLARA SOLA

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The powerful need for expression and agency are at the heart of Nathalie Alvarez Mesen’s debut feature Clara Sola. The film centers on a 40-year-old Costa Rican woman named Clara (a mesmerizing Wendy Chinchilla Araya), whose deep connection to nature and animals seems to include the mystical ability to heal — but whose body and soul are constantly repressed, particularly by her devout mother, Fresia (Flor María Vargas Chavez). When Clara dares to test those constraints, the consequences are volatile.

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Movie of the Week 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 24, 2022: BITTERBRUSH

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A unique coming-of-age story, Emelie Mahdavian’s immersive, observational documentary Bitterbrush takes viewers fully into a world many aren’t likely to have experienced. Following friends Colie Moline and Hollyn Patterson through their final summer herding cattle together on a remote ranch before life takes them in new, separate directions, it conveys emotions that are as big as the Idaho sky while maintaining a tight focus on the two young women and their relationship with each other.

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Movie of the Week 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 17, 2022: GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Brave” is a word that gets thrown around a lot when it comes to acting, often when a performer — particularly a woman — dares to look unattractive on screen. Think Charlize Theron in Monster, Jennifer Aniston in Cake, and even Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones. Well, those ladies are all cowards compared to Emma Thompson, who boldly bares it all, literally and lovingly, in Sophie Hyde’s intimate drama Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.

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Movie of the Week 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 10, 2022: OFFICIAL COMPETITION

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As long as there have been movies, there have been movies about making movies. Some are serious, some are silly; some are dark, some are light. One thing most have in common is that they always seem to bring those involved that particularly satisfying form of glee that comes from casting a critical light on something you have a complex relationship with. All of that is in play in Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat’s sharp showbiz satire Official Competition.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 3, 2022: THE JANES

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It would be nice if Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ documentary The Janes could be viewed strictly as part of the historical record — a detailed account of “how things used to be.” But with women’s right to choose still under relentless attack and Roe v. Wade seemingly on the brink of being reversed, this film about a group of young women who worked tirelessly in the late 1960s and early ’70s to help provide access to safe illegal abortions couldn’t be more timely.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 27, 2022: SINCE I BEEN DOWN

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Both infuriating and inspiring, Gilda Sheppard’s documentary Since I Been Down lays bare the fear and institutional racism that drive so much of the United States’ criminal justice system — but also shows how education and understanding can open minds and turn lives around. Focusing on the story of Kimonti Carter, a Black Tacoma, Wash., man who’s been incarcerated for murder since he was 18, it demands that viewers think critically about race, power, rehabilitation, and justice.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 20, 2022 – FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you heard that David Bowie told Rolling Stone in 1999 that a group popular in the 1970s was “one of the finest f–ing rock bands of their time,” who would you guess he was talking about? Led Zepplin? The Who? Deep Purple? Wrong, wrong, and wrong. He was heaping praise on Fanny, the groundbreaking all-female band formed by Filipina sisters Jean and June Millington, whose story is told in Bobbi Jo Hart’s rousing documentary Fanny: The Right to Rock.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 6, 2020: INBETWEEN GIRL

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Relatable and honest, with a healthy dash of artistic quirk, InBetween Girl feels like the adaptation of a cool YA graphic novel — but it’s all direct from the brain of writer/director Mei Makino, making her feature debut alongside star Emma Galbraith. Together, these two talented women tell the coming-of-age story of Galveston high schooler Angie (Galbraith) as she navigates love, sex, friendship, high school, and her parents’ divorce.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 29, 2022: ANAIS IN LOVE

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Like a French Greta Gerwig character, the charming but often-flighty Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier) discovers the truth behind Shakespeare’s old adage that the course of true love never did run smooth in Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s beguiling French romantic comedy Anaïs in Love. As she negotiates family, work, and romance, Anaïs begins to realize that her ultra-carefree approach to life may not always be the best option now that she’s entering her 30s. But does that mean she has to change her ways?

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 22, 2022: PETITE MAMAN

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quietly emotional and tenderly sincere, Petite Maman is a poignant tale about loss, connection, and growing up. Blending gentle fantasy elements with grounded, naturalistic performances, writer-director Céline Sciamma tells the story of 8-year-old Nelly, whose parents take her with them to clear out her mother’s childhood home after the death of her beloved grandmother. To her surprise, she finds much more waiting for her there than her mother’s old books and playthings.

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