Demons
Movie Pick of the Week
Dear Friends,
This is the toughest week for women-directed films so far this year. There’s no new wide release, and we’ve already seen all the holdovers save one (the new Colleen Hoover novel-adapted movie, Reminders of Him. Hard pass.) If you’re looking for a woman-directed film worth going to the theater to see this week, Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 expanded into more cities and is excellent.
We’re dealing with a lack of options, and within those options, frankly the choices aren’t very good. I’m almost ready to give up on choosing only women-directed films for this year. Almost. I’m a stubborn person, and with some digging I found five under-the-radar movies from which to choose. One of these is directed by the well-known director Sofia Coppola. I’ll skip Marc By Sofia, though, because I’m not a fan of the fashion industry (the upcoming, heavily-promoted The Devil Wears Prada 2 is directed by a man (how lame is that??) so thankfully I don’t have to watch it).
Three of the other choices have very attention-grabbing titles: You’re Dating a Narcissist!, Dead Lover, Castration Movie (what do these titles reveal about the current mental state of women??) but with Susan’s input am choosing a documentary called Jimmy and the Demons by esteemed director Cindy Meehl. Her debut feature, Buck, about renowned horse whisperer Buck Brannaman, won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at Sundance in 2008. Her latest film is about a sculptor searching for meaning while creating the biggest, and most personal, commission of his career. We’ll see it at the Quad Cinema on Tuesday (Apr 7) at 6:05pm.
As a final note, I struggle with the cognitive dissonance of choosing films while witnessing our demonic country (with Israel) drop bombs on hospitals and schools in Gaza and Iran and indiscriminately lock up immigrants at home. Too many of us are just letting these atrocities happen. I attended a march last Saturday and know many others who did. That one weekend day is just a hint of movement in the mobilization required for the US to change course. Marches are meaningless if they don’t develop into further collective action: strikes, boycotts, divestment, disruption. Art is one of many things worth living for, and while I encourage you to make time to go to the movies (or the theater, or a concert), it is incumbent on all of us to RAISE OUR VOICES and BUILD COMMUNITIES to fight for ALL the children who inherit our world.
To the pleasure of films and the discussions they spark,
Josh