Category Archives: Film Analysis
SINCE OTAR LEFT… (2003) or Women’s Lives.
“Pour moi qui suis issue d’un univers familial plutôt matriarcal, je pouvais y mettre beaucoup de ma propre vie, parler des rapports mère-filles qui m’ont structuré ou destructuré…” What made me choose this film for our October film group session? … Continue reading
THE PROPRIETOR (1996)
During my research on a certain subject I sometimes come across a bit of information that seems irrelevant and that I dismiss automatically and yet it seems that my brain has retained it without knowing where it came from. In … Continue reading
OPENING NIGHT (1977) : Inside I feel 18 years old
In my previous post I analysed a 4 minutes scene where Myrtle is challenged about her inability to act the role of an older woman, Virginia, or disclose her age. This crucial scene occurs nearly half way through the film. It … Continue reading
OPENING NIGHT: age does not matter?
I cannot remember when I first saw Cassavetes’ Opening Night (1977), maybe before I got interested in the representation of old women in film. All I remember is that I came out of the cinema bewildered. I did not understand its style, … Continue reading
Le Week-End (2013) or Modern Paris and Nostalgia.
Le Weekend is a mess. A majority of reviews describe it as a romantic comedy, albeit some qualify this by saying it is a bitter-sweet account of a 30 years old marital relationship. American, British and French critics on the … Continue reading
ANTONIA’S LINE – Antidote to sexism.
For our film group this month I chose Antonia’s Line (1995). Why did I pick this film from my collection? Three reasons spring to mind. In a new book about ageing: Lynn Segal’s ‘Out of Time, the Pleasures and Perils of … Continue reading
SOUS LE SABLE (UNDER THE SAND)
A little while ago Under the Sand (2000) was considered for screening at an event on ageing. I had excluded it from my blog and film group list because Charlotte Rampling was 54 years old when Ozon shot this mystery … Continue reading
THE BECOMING OF AGE
I finally had some leisure time during my holidays away from the health concerns and trivial activities that sapped my energies this winter. I delighted in reading Pamela Gravagne book: THE BECOMING OF AGE : cinematic visions if mind body … Continue reading
FABULOUS FASHIONISTAS
Although my blog is about old women and feature films, I will consider a television documentary broadcast on September 17th 2013 on Channel 4. I think it is a very important programme in the field of representation of old women. … Continue reading
LES TEMPS QUI CHANGENT – Changing Times
I have a soft spot for Téchiné’s Les Temps Qui Changent (2004). It has had very little exposure in the UK and is unavailable on DVD Region 2. A family drama without histrionics, it places Cécile played by Catherine Deneuve … Continue reading
Innocence (2000)
Innocence is a beautiful and complex film. Long before The Mother (2003) was hailed as a breakthrough in the cinematic representation of sexual desire in an older woman, and Cloud 9 (2006) widely given as an example of images of an old couple … Continue reading
THE WHALES OF AUGUST (1987)
At the 2006 U3A/NFT Older Women in Films Study Day the focus film was The Whales of August. The film at the time was not available on DVD or Video but the film group had watched a copy from the TV. … Continue reading
Baghban (The Gardener – 2003)
66 years later than Make Way For Tomorrow and 50 years later than TS, Baghban (2003) treats the same subject of the generation gap in a changing world. But in contrast to both MWT and TS Poojah the old woman … Continue reading
THE OLD WOMAN IN ‘MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW’ AND ‘TOKYO STORY’
The film group is on holiday so I can come back to my three years old project. This is to consider the old woman in two classic films with the same story. For there is no magic that will draw … Continue reading
IN THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS take 3
The theme of the Penzance Literature Festival was Vision. I was delighted to be invited to give an alternative vision of old women in film. I chose The Company of Strangers. ( I prefer to use the Canadian original title … Continue reading
STRANGERS IN GOOD COMPANY take 2
This month the film group met to view The Company of Strangers. I will not transcribe the notes since the pieces written by members of the group in 2007 say it all. To access these, click on resources and then … Continue reading
THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS, STRANGERS IN GOOD COMPANY (1990)
Written in 2007 We usually analyze a film because it is intriguing. Indeed this film intrigued me. The first time I saw it I was dealing with a father deep in the nightmare of dementia and a mother immobilized by … Continue reading
MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW (1937)
La cohabitation n’a jamais fait de bien à personne. (my mother) Life flies past us so swiftly that few of us pause to consider those who have lost the tempo of today. Their laughter and their tears we do not even … Continue reading
BELIEVE ME THE IMAGE IS MORE THAN IT APPEARS. (Ovid-Heroids)
I was chuffed last week when I was asked to take part in a project about the representation of old women. The researcher was not the usual young academic looking at old women from an ‘objective’ point of view, not … Continue reading
QUARTET (2012)
SEE ALSO UNDER ‘RESOURCES’ THE FILM GROUP RESPONSES When I first saw Quartet at the London Film Festival I was as enthralled as the whole audience. We left the cinema with smiles on our faces. There were so many pleasures … Continue reading
DEPARTURES (2008)
SEE ALSO UNDER ‘RESOURCES’ FOR FILM GROUP COMMENTS It always surprises me how a film is dismissed when people rely on their favourite reviewer’s opinions based on one viewing. Departures won the 2009 Oscar for best foreign film. Few of … Continue reading
AMOUR – QUESTIONS
ALSO SEE UNDER FILM GROUP PAGE THE RESPONSES OF THE FILM GROUP Two people have said to me: your blog is about the representation of old women and yet you do not address this in the one about Amour. This is true. … Continue reading
AMOUR – A PERSONAL VIEW
At long last Amour. I was waiting for our film group to meet before writing about this amazing film. Being interested in how viewers receive a film and what is on-screen I found that above all other films Amour demands … Continue reading
MAETCHEN IN UNIFORM at the NFT free senior matinee.
The NFT free senior matinees are well worth attending. This month they screened the amazing Maedchen in Uniform to synchronise with the Lesbian and Gay Festival. An excellent article about the film is to be found in the March 1981 issue … Continue reading
Song for Marion : Singing is good for you.
I saw A Song For Marion (known in USA as Unfinished Song) in my local multiplex at a matinée, in the smallest auditorium of the complex. It was advertised as a comedy/drama. On IMDb it comes under Comedy, Drama, Music, in … Continue reading
BALLAD OF NARAYAMA (1958) and AGEWISE
I was rereading chapter 1 of Margaret Morganroth Gullette’s book AGEWISE : The Eskimo On the Ice Floe. At the back of my mind lurked vague thoughts about a film group. I decided to revisit The Ballad of Narayama which has the same theme as the Eskimo … Continue reading
The Mother (2003) and staging age
I am back from holidays. I like doing my serious reading when there are no interruptions of trivial chores, visits to the doctor, hospital, podiatrist, optician and hearing specialist or social and family activities. After my post on The Mother, … Continue reading
THE MOTHER (2002) Old woman’s sexuality or Thatcher’s Britain?
The film-maker daughter of a friend of mine challenged me the other day. From agreement over Last Tango in Halifax that we both found a well written TV drama, we slid into disagreement and misunderstanding about The Mother (2002). She liked The … Continue reading
Old Age and Feature Films 
THE STRAIGHT STORY 2
Ageist language I could not resist flagging. From the NFT viewing notes of Charulata (1964 – dir. Satyajit Ray) I quote : … I saw old women doddering out of the cinema with tears in their eyes …. the ancient women emerging … Continue reading →