Tag Archives: mother/daughter

AQUARIUS (2016) partial analysis

In The Greater London Pensioner Association newsletter (October 2017) Judith Olley writes about the Representation of Older People on Film. It is refreshing to read about films from an older person’s viewpoint and I picked up two films that I … Continue reading

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PAULINE AND PAULETTE (2001)

Third film at the Ealing Oldies Network.  The 18 people present were enthusiastic. They appreciated the film   and the exchange of views at the end was very lively and informed. It was evident that a few had some experience in … Continue reading

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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

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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

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FEDORA (1978) and CELEBRITY.

I was in my early 40s, when I first saw Fedora (1978). I was not worried about ageing or conscious of ageism, as work, family and activism kept me very busy yet I was left with two very strong impressions. I could, … Continue reading

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THE WINTER GUEST (film reception)

Ever since I compared film critics’ and a group of older women’s views of Le Chat*  I have been interested in the way people react to films. Why are some elements of the film not perceived, or registered and what is … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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MAMADRAMA (2001) The Jewish Mother Stereotype

http://www.jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/mamadrama.html This will be a very personal view of the documentary Mamadrama: The Jewish Mother in Cinema.(2001). When I arrived from the Middle East and settled in London I was puzzled by the expression “She is such a Jewish Mother”. … Continue reading

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UNHOOK THE STARS (1996)

I am glad I rediscovered this film after seeing Opening Night and am once again surprised that such a relevant film has never been mentioned in any list of older women in film that I have come across. Nick Cassavetes in his interviews declares … Continue reading

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MOOLAADE (2004)

I am overwhelmed by the amount of film work I would like to do and am struggling to keep up. I will  mention briefly here Ousmane Sembène’s Moolaadé to signpost it for myself for later consideration.  It is a film that cannot be … Continue reading

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Cultural Gerontology and Films

On the film front the 8th International Conference on Cultural Gerontology was not very exciting for me as opposed to other presentations.  SEE: http://ageingageismdiary.wordpress.com The majority of papers on visual representation were about TV programmes none of which were familiar to … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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London Film Festival: I’m Carolyn Parker

When I started to study old women and films I decided not to consider documentaries as the field is too extensive.  I’m Carolyn Parker was screened at the LFF a few days ago .  I had recently read  ‘Agewise: fighting the … Continue reading

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Old couple

I do not usually comment on films that I have seen only once.  I know full well that the immediate response to a film is very subjective and comments are often too biased by ideology and life experience to have any general … Continue reading

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