Cinema, Films and Ageing.

I have been running old women film groups for the last twenty years and blogging about the representation of the old woman in feature films for the last ten years.

My relationship with cinemas, film, film groups and writing needs to be adjusted to my circumstances but also to the general changes in the film world.

I seem to have less and less time to enjoy analysing films frame by frame and commenting on their ageism or lack of. I cannot grasp really what is happening to time. It races so quickly that I cannot write one sensible paragraph in what turns out to be a whole morning. On the other hand hours go so slowly when my brain is in rest mode.

My hearing and sight are deteriorating in spite of the advance technology of aids. Helas, in general, accessibility in cinemas is not ideal and subtitles sessions few and far between. What are called Art films – my favourite genre – are shown in tiny cinemas not bigger than my sitting room and less comfortable – not worth travelling in London polluted air.

The good news. There is more interest in old women in films : https://www.facebook.com/wo50ff/

Film groups and clubs in different forms and venues are flourishing.
Although ageism is still rife, one hears old women voices more often.

I cannot keep up with the generally released films featuring old actors. I run a monthly film session at EON : Ealing Over 60s Network. It is very well attended and not women only. I do declare that my speciality is the representation of old women in films and I try to document the very interesting discussions. It is the last session of the term that I decided to change the focus of this blog.

A member told me that the Ealing Classic Cinema Club had shown Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands. A non-British born like me she thought I would I would appreciate the portrayal of the conflict of two cultures that she found very accurate.

I saw the film and found it lacking in rigour. While the old man Tai Chi master’s role was well portrayed, the incidents of conflict were repetitive. I found the role of young woman writer somehow superficial and unsympathetic.

But this led me to Ang Lee’s following films: The Wedding Banquet and eat drink man woman that I Hope to blog about soon.