The Best Movies to Watch by Female director (Page 15)

Empirical truth is something that is observable, objective, and verifiable. However, without the ability to observe, one must find other means to obtain a set of observations– repeated, consistent answers to eventually parse out the reality. One must obtain proof. Proof is an Australian drama about a blind photographer named Martin, who uses his photos […]

Stories We Tell got on everyone’s radar when, back in 2015, it made the list of the all-time top ten list of Canadian films. That speaks to both the caliber of this movie and its relevance to North America. It’s in fact a first-person account about (and made by) actress Sarah Polley (Mr. Nobody, Exotica, […]

Film direction—at least in the traditional sense—is all about establishing control. In Even the Rain, however, the crew led by director Sebastian faces a problem larger than what they can manage when they become embroiled in a local conflict over water supply while shooting a period film in Bolivia. The situation escalates into a violent […]

A deeply affecting and meaningful documentary, directed by the woman who it revolves around. Jennifer Brea, a Harvard Ph.D student, begins suffering from unusual symptoms: prolonged and extreme fatigue, mental confusion, full-body pain, etc. When she goes to the doctor she is dismissed for being dehydrated and depressed. Later she finds an extended community suffering […]

You would think that a film made with Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek and Cher would be a major theatrical release, but even in 1996, the topic of abortion rights was still quite controversial. If These Walls Could Talk may be relegated to the small screen because of this, or because of being an anthology of […]

When it comes to British period dramas, aristocrats are rarely portrayed as Black until relatively recently, with colorblind casting tending to focus more on acting talent rather than how race would affect and shape a character. That being said, while rarely acknowledged, Black descendants of British aristocracy actually did exist, and one of whom has […]

Lauren Greenfield’s film follows the Siegel family’s decline from opulent abundance to gaudy ruin. Mega wealth, delusions of grandeur, and grotesquely opulent taste—the Siegel family were the perfect subjects for the film, which sets out to document their most lavish expense: their Versailles home, a mansion sprawling more than 85,000 square feet and modeled after […]

Contemplative English literature professor Vivian leaves New York for Reno, Nevada, to facilitate her divorce from a lifeless marriage. There she meets Cay, a sculptor and free spirit living relatively uncloseted for the time. What starts as an inspiring friendship soon turns to attraction. It is partly the story of Vivian’s sexual awakening, partly a […]

Given the premise, it’s no surprise that Hollow Reed is melodramatic. There’s some sad backstory, dramatic confrontations, an evil stepfather, and a heavy handed approach to depicting its issues. Still, the family drama works because of its performances. Martin Donovan portrays a concerned British father so well that it’s easy to forget he’s American. Joely […]

Jane Campion’s biographical drama about the poet John Keats derives its name from one of the latter’s greatest love sonnets: Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art… / Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath/ And so live ever—or else swoon to death. Keats remains one of the most celebrated and adored Romantic […]

A beautiful and subtle masterpiece exploring the life of Alike, a teen in Brooklyn navigating her identity as a gay black girl. Caught between the traditional world of her family and the butch and sexual world of her friend who has already come out, director Dee Rees allows the audience to see the trials and tribulations […]

It almost makes the cut at a 6.3 from IMDB, and a 65% from RT, but this documentary is fantastic. This movie looks at the hidden side of everything from grades on standardized tests to professional sumo wrestling. Using numbers and mathematics, an economist is determined to find a pattern in why things are the […]

With the austere ethos of Dogme 95, most Dogme films tend to be naturalistic, serious dramas, dealing with heavy topics. Italian for Beginners is a Dogme film, but it’s one of the only lighthearted comedies considered to be one. It makes for a more casual, realistic approach to the romantic comedy, as students in an […]

In Tina Mabry’s first full length feature film Mississippi Damned she tells the story of three poor, Black adolescents as they advance into adulthood. The story is mostly centered on Kari Peterson, portrayed by Tessa Thompson, who has fallen witness and victim to violence/abuse since her childhood. As she navigates her trauma while facing poverty […]

Most of us don’t get to live our lives with our first loves, but sometimes that separation leads us to the love of our lives. This is true of the Orked trilogy, the third installment of which is named after the one other love Orked had before Jason. Without the interracial dynamic, one might expect […]

19-year-old Dominican pitcher Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Sugar, dreams of making it into an American baseball team and pulling himself and his family out of poverty. He gets a chance to train for a team in Kansas, but on arrival struggles to be accepted in his new community. Poignant and beautifully performed, Sugar is not the […]

An intelligent and very funny comedy film which isn’t formulaic, doesn’t rely on tired old cliches and situations. I watched this film with no preconceptions and was frankly blown away by how good it was. It features sympathetic and believable characters and you yearn to know about them. Proof also that you don’t necessarily need […]

The 1868 semi-autobiographical novels of Louisa May Alcott have been adapted into film, television and theatre so many times: 6 movies, 4 TV shows, even a broadway musical. It’s a compelling story to watch as it unfolds, and it’s easy to see why many hold this one as the best adaptation of the novels. For […]

A very cool documentary about old ladies living in a forbidden zone near Chernobyl. They just came back to their homes in the “stalker zone” few years after the accident and kept living their lives care-free for a staggering 30 years. All of them seem healthy and they love telling jokes. It’s a completely different view […]

This excellent new drama is about three indigenous Māori women and their upbringing in colonial New Zealand. The story is split into two timelines: the present, where two of them are trying to protect their ancestral land from a government project, while the third, Makareta, is wandering aimlessly through a big city. And the past, […]

This movie depicts such an understated, beautiful love story. The cinematography around Cairo also made it beautiful to look at. It fully swept me away. Juliette (wonderfully played by Patricia Clarkson) travels to Cairo to meet her husband when she learns that he is blocked in Gaza and can’t meet her. Instead, he sends his friend […]

An insightful documentary that profiles several video game developers who have eschewed mainstream opportunities in order to pursue their dreams of self-employment and independent game production. The film follows four developers over the months, days and hours leading up to looming launch dates for their creations, and captures many of the difficulties and anxieties therein. […]