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Tag Archives: mother
ETERNITY AND A DAY (1998)
There is a huge difference between my reactions to Eternity and a Day in my early 60s and now at 84. In 1998 Central Station was also released . At the time I focused my attentionon the representation of old … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, audience responses, classic, classic film, death, family, Film Analysis, FILM RECEPTION, grief, love, outsiders
Tagged Angelopoulos, bus, childhood, couple, death, dementia, exile, family home, flashbacks, introspections, last days, love, memories, mother, poems, poet, refugee children, refugees, sea and drowning, selling of children, the sea, time frame in films
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Ballad of Narayama (1958)
I had written about this film exactly three years ago and seeing it again proved to be as fascinating. I had shown it to the film group of the time but did not record responses. The membership of the film group … Continue reading
Camera Obscura (2008) or what happens next?
Camera Obscura (2008) is an Argentinian film directed by Maria Victoria Menis. It is not about an old woman but I thought that this unknown film is well worth watching and studying for its multimedia form, its outdoor lyrical shots, … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, FILM RECEPTION, motherhood
Tagged ambiguous endings, beauty, daughter, documentary, family, family photos, film reception, intergeneration, jewish film, jews and Argentinian gauchos, mirror scene, mother, mother/daughter, motherhood, multi media film, open endings, photos, surrealism, the gaze, ugliness, war
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London Film Festival 2015
I saw two films featuring an old woman at the Festival this year: Grandma (2015 ) ticked all the boxes : Lily Tomlin, lesbian relationship, angry grandmother, women’s liberation, the 70s, odd characters, good granddaughter/grandmother relationship , difficult one with daughter, teenager … Continue reading
THE WINTER GUEST: PHYLLIDA LAW AND EMMA THOMPSON. On women friendships
In my previous post I noted that it might be rewarding to examine Mother Elspeth (Phyllida Law) and Daughter Frances’ (Emma Thompson) story in The Winter Guest. The task of tracing their narrative in this crazily edited puzzle was very … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Film Analysis
Tagged Ageing, anger, caring, daughter, death, editing, Emma Thompson, film reception, friendship, grief, jump cuts, mother, mother/daughter, Phyllida Law, script and cinematography, women friendships
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THE WINTER GUEST (1997) – FUNERALS.
At the age of 80 I find I am attending funerals quite often and at the last one it occurred to me how like a performance the rituals are.(see http://www.ageingageismdiary.wordpress.com). Funerals in films are very common. In thrillers, the detectives … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Film Analysis
Tagged Ageing, burial, cinematography, close ups, complex narrative structure, consciousness of mortality], cremation, death, friendship, frozen sea, funeral as performance, funerals, grief, jump cuts, mother, mourning, pan, perception in films, winter location
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KEEPING MUM (2005) or “it is the least a mother can do”
Like Tatie Danielle, Keeping Mum is difficult to categorise. The reviewers call it a black comedy and their assessments range from Ebert and Rope “It’s probably one of the funniest films to come out of England in years” to Philip French “laboured … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Film Analysis, motherhood
Tagged Ageing, british comedies, caring, daughter, family, grandmother, housekeeper, intergeneration, mother, mother and grownup family, mother/daughter, murder, nanny, oldwoman/teenager, sermon, song of songs, teenager, unhappy family, vicar
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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
MUM AND ME – SUE BOURNE TV DOCUMENTARY
When I started my blog on the representation of old women I needed to limit my field of research. I decided to exclude animation, because I am not very versed in the genre, and documentaries because the area might be … 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
Posted in Ageing, Film Analysis
Tagged affair, Ageing, death, desire, editing, falling in love, film style, flashbacks, husband/wife relationship, intergeneration, love, memories, metphores, mother, mother and son, motifs, representation old woman
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Philomena (2013)
Brief thoughts and no spoilers. Go and See Philomena while it is still on the big screen. Make a note of it if you are not in the UK. At long last Judy Dench, in a role that uses her … Continue reading
MIRROR MIRROR CONFERENCE
“The photo is never a mirror” Dr. Margaret Morganroth Gullette After I attended the Lumière Blanche Festival I explored with another member of the Film Group the possibilities of reaching and exposing young people to images of old women. We … Continue reading
Posted in Ageing, Conferences and comments
Tagged advanced style, Ageing, Ageism, brand culture, care home, fashionistas, grandmother, Hanna Zeilig, images of old women, intergeneration, looks, Margaret Gullette, mirror mirror, mother, photos, product placement, representation old woman, white hair
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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
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
Posted in Film Analysis
Tagged absent father, corpse, death, death rituals, encoffinment, grandfather, grandmother, grief, Japan, mother, oscars, rebellious youth, unclean
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Pather Panchali : Witch or Grandmother
Because of a mix up in dates by the cinema, the U3A audience at the Lexi was small but very appreciative. I had forgotten how woman-centered was Pather Panchali and remembered only the visual and music emotional impact it made … Continue reading
Posted in Film Analysis
Tagged aunt/niece relationship, death, family, grandmother, intergeneration, mother, mother/daughter, old aunt, old woman, representation old woman
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The Salt of Life or Gianni and Women (2011)
Gianni e le donne. Literally Gianni and (the) Women. Gianni is on our screens again. Still drinking, but less than he did in Mid August Lunch, still a good cook, still at the beck and call of his mother. But … Continue reading
Posted in Film Analysis
Tagged Ageism, carer, daughter, family, gaze, grandfather, mother, old woman, positive ageing, redundancy, role reversal, still doing it, walking the dog
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The Tree of Life
It is not fair to comment on a complex film generally without studying it in detail but I feel compelled to write about Malick’s The Tree of Life. The film evoked in me deep emotions but also deep alienation. One … Continue reading
Tagged death, family, grief, loss, mother, sons and mothers
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Volver : women’s lives and deaths
The U3A screening at the Lexi in March was Almodovar’s Volver. The audience, as usual composed of a majority of women, greatly appreciated the film. This was expressed by lively contributions by many of them. There were general comments: idealisation … Continue reading
Posted in Film Analysis
Tagged caring, daughter, death, food, grandmother, group of old women, intergeneration, mother, old woman, supernatural
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Since Otar Left
November 1st. 2009 Supported by Film London, the Phoenix cinema in East Finchley started a series of monthly events consisting of a matinee screening of a film featuring an older woman, followed by a panel talk and a discussion. The … Continue reading
Posted in Film Analysis
Tagged daughter, granddaughter, grandmother, intergeneration, mother, old woman
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Old Age and Feature Films 
BABOUSSIA (2003) self sacrificing great grandmother
I have used italics for film quotes and bold italics for director’s quotes mainly from http://www.kinoglaz.fr/u_fiche_film.php?num=60 in French or the extras from the DVD. I have used the spelling of Baboussia used on the DVD cover but there are different … Continue reading →