Louise (Meg Ryan), a high-powered Manhattan lawyer, is touched when she arrives for the weekend to her family's upstate getaway to find it strewn with rose petals by her husband of 13 years, Ian (Timothy Hutton). Unfortunately... Ian is not expecting Louise, rather his much younger girlfriend (Kristen Bell). In fact, he's actually in the process of writing Louise a letter explaining his intention to leave her for good. An oddly cool Louise has other plans. She takes Ian captive, refusing to release him until he commits to working on their marriage together. When Ian's impatient mistress shows up, not to mention an opportunistic gardener (Justin Long), things start to get seriously complicated. Not merely a war of the sexes, Serious Moonlight is a story of a war of the wills as Ian tries to talk his way out of the situation.
Showing at the Chicago International Film Festival: Effi Briest, directed by Hermine Huntgeburth
Synopsis from the Chicago International Film Festival website:
In 19th-century Germany, 17-year-old Effi Briest sees her carefree life disappear when her parents marry her off to a man 20 years her senior. To find respite from her dull domestic existence, she begins an affair with a handsome young officer, but their dalliance carries a high cost... This adaptation of the famous novel approaches the classic story through a post-women's-lib lens, allowing it to transcend costume-drama conventions.
Slinkys, Pet Rocks, Ant Farms... behind each of those great novelties is the story of a great Novelty Inventor. Made In China is the story of one such inventor.
Johnson, a self-styled novelty inventor from a small town in East Texas, is determined to bring his big idea - "a humorous domestic hygiene product"- to the world. Johnson's journey takes him to the Mecca of the novelty world: China, where anything is possible and everything has its price.
Lost in the backstreets of Shanghai, Johnson discovers that it takes more than a million dollar idea to make it to the big time. It takes guts, determination, and a fist full of sneezing powder.
Speaking of guts and determination, here is an interview with Judi Krant about slipping under the radar to film in China.
Showing at the Chicago International Film Festival: Hidden Diary, directed by Julie Lopes-Curval
Synopsis from the Chicago International Film Festival website:
While visiting her parents in France, Audrey discovers her grandmother's diary, the only memento of a woman who abandoned her family. Audrey's search for understanding uncovers a family secret buried under 50 years of silence, and ultimately illuminates her relationship with her own mother (Catherine Deneuve) and the deep, complex bonds between three generations of women.
Wanting to escape was the easy part. Taking place in 1986 and 1998 and based on a true story, three poor, Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence. They independently struggle to escape their circumstances and must decide whether to confront what's plagued their family for generations or succumb to the same crippling fate, forever damned in Mississippi. Bitterly honest and profoundly subtle, writer/director Tina Mabry successfully captures growing up in a world where possibilities and opportunities seem to die in the face of the suffocating reality of physical and sexual abuse, obsession, and a myriad of destructive compulsions.
The documentary I Know a Woman Like That, is being produced by Virginia Madsen and directed by her Emmy Award-winning mother Elaine. In response to a comment she made to Virginia when saddened by the death of a dear friend:
"I hope someday you know a woman like that; so engaged in life, politically, socially, an avid reader, fully aware, with friends of all ages..."
Virginia quickly responded, "I already know a woman like that, Mom."
Thus emerged the apt title for their documentary; when Virginia encouraged her mother "to get behind the camera again." And that's exactly what Elaine is doing.
Their documentary features live interviews with extraordinary women ages 64 to 94. The interviews reveal the full engagement of these women in the arts, athletics, social justice, environmentalism, and high finance. Their unconventional choices, attitudes and discoveries about the opportunities they find at this time in their lives will motivate and inspire people of all ages.
A rebellious socialite defies social conventions for a once-in-a-lifetime shot at true love, only to see her hopes for the future shattered after a priceless diamond vanishes into thin air in this romantic drama adapted from a long-lost Tennessee Williams screenplay. Fisher Willow (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the debutant daughter of a wealthy Memphis plantation owner. She harbors a great disdain for the narrow-minded elite who seem to worship the ground her father walks on, and takes great delight in shocking and insulting them whenever the opportunity to do so arises. Shortly after returning from studying overseas, Fisher is swept off her feet by lowly farmhand Jimmy Dobyne (Chris Evans), who works on her father's plantation. His father a hopeless alcoholic and his mother having long since lost her mental capacities, Jimmy seems destined to go nowhere in life until Fisher hires him as her escort for the lavish party season and attempts to pass him off as an upper-class suitor in order to placate her spinster aunt Cornelia (Ann-Margret), who's been placed in charge of the family fortune. When one of Cornelia's priceless diamonds suddenly goes missing, a storm of accusations and betrayals begins to brew, effectively threatening to destroy any hopes that Fisher and Jimmy may have had for a happy future together.
Showing at the Chicago International Film Festival: Dear Doctor, directed by Miwa Nishikawa
Synopsis from the Chicago International Film Festival website:
Lies told in the name of love and compassion are the focus of this beautiful psychological drama about a country doctor whose good intentions outstrip his honesty. Universally beloved by his community for his kindness and diligence, he abruptly leaves town one day, throwing it into turmoil. Astonishing secrets about his background soon surface, and the villagers must come to terms with this new knowledge of the man they so admire.
Showing at the Chicago International Film Festival: Who's Afraid of the Wolf?, directed by Maria Procházková
Synopsis from the Chicago International Film Festival website:
In this fantastical fairy tale for all ages, the adults in young Terezka's life have suddenly begun to act oddly. Hushed conversations, a strange new character, and an unwanted revelation convince her that her mother is not who she seems. Terezka's imagination runs wild as she tries to understand the family crisis and wake up from what she hopes is a bad dream.
A group of incarcerated teenage girls get a shot at redemption in a most unlikely form: a musical based on their lives. As they write and stage their play, the girls must re-live their crimes, reclaim their humanity, and take a first step toward breaking free of the prison system.
Meet Whitney (17)—the eyes and ears of Warrenville, and our unexpected heroine. Intimidating, self-isolating, and one of Warrenville’s longest-term inmates, Whitney is infamous for a crime she won’t talk about. Despite herself, she soon emerges as one of the most powerful storytellers in the group. Her writing introduces us to her charming, drug-addled father, a man whose mistakes paved the way to his daughter’s heinous crime. As the performance approaches, Whitney’s growing voice may lead both of them to confront the past and try to move forward.
Rosa (17) is a hot-tempered girl who taunts guards and inmates alike. Released from Warrenville, she returns weeks later after getting nearly killed in a knife fight. With a constant reminder of her temper carved into her throat, she is forced to grapple with the abuse that is the source of her anger.
Christina (18) is a friendly, popular girl whose only crime is running away. Drawn into street life by her mother’s crack habit, she’s spent most of her life in jails and foster placements. When she gets a chance for adoption by a wealthy Christian family, she jumps at it– but can’t reconcile her new upper-middle class life with her loyalty to her mother’s world.
When the girls hit the stage in front of their families, prison staff and utter strangers, hitting the notes isn’t important: it’s their chance to seize their stories and tell them to the world. Given unprecedented access to this juvenile correctional facility by the State of Illinois, the powerful characters of Girls on the Wall will surprise you with their candor, intimacy, and unexpected sense of humor. Together, they illustrate the power of storytelling to make sense of even the darkest pasts.
Five coworkers cram into one car for their shared ride home. The tension churning through this tight space instantly intimates the clandestine office romances Claustrophobia will explore. Cleverly piecing together fragments of these often ambiguous relationships, this urbane, naturalistic drama reminds us that physical proximity and intimacy are two vastly different things.
Like many other women, Diana has been suffering from problematic periods for years. With every new cycle, the same question arises: "Why the pain and annoyance if I am healthy?"
Her initial innocent curiosity sparks off an emotional voyage to the very roots of femininity and life. Moon Inside You is a fresh look at a taboo that defines the political and social reality of both women and men in a more profound way than society might be willing to admit. Facing the menstrual etiquette with doses of humour and self-irony, the documentary approaches the subject through both personal and collective references, thus challenging our preconceived idea of womanhood.
Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the legend of "Cropsey." For the kids in their neighborhood, Cropsey was the escaped mental patient who lived in the old abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets. Sometimes Cropsey had a hook for a hand, other times he wielded a bloody axe, but it didn’t matter, Cropsey was always out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to get them.
Later as teenagers, the filmmakers assumed Cropsey was just an urban legend: a cautionary tale used to keep them out of those abandoned buildings and stop them from doing all those things that teenagers like to do. That all changed in the summer of 1987 when a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome, named Jennifer Schweiger, disappeared from their community. That was the summer all the kids from Staten Island discovered that their urban legend was real.
Now as adults Joshua and Barbara have returned to Staten Island to create Cropsey, a feature documentary that delves into the mystery behind Jennifer and four additional missing children. The film also investigates Andre Rand, the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.
Embarking on a mysterious journey into the underbelly of their forgotten borough, these filmmakers uncover a reality that is more terrifying than any urban legend.
One of the first indigenous feature films to come out of the Bahamas, Rain (introducing Renel Brown) steers us away from the simplistic perception of a postcard paradise, instead taking us "over the hill" into the challenged life of a young local girl determined to get to know the mother who abandoned her as a young child.
Rain is a spirited fourteen-year old who, after the death of her grandmother (Irma P. Hall), forgoes the sheltered, simple life of her home on Ragged Island to seek out her estranged mother in the big city of Nassau.
Her dreams of a loving reconciliation are quickly shattered when she meets Glory (Nicki Micheaux), a scarred, proud, guarded woman bearing no resemblance to the mother she had hoped for. Glory's self destructive lifestyle, diminished by drug abuse and prostitution, is rudely awakened by the imminent role of motherhood.
Confronted by unforeseeable trials, Rain's passion for running and deeply rooted spirit brings two allies into her life: an insightful and inspiring track coach and a charming, rebellious teenage neighbor. And in time, Rain's spirit and talent take her to unimaginable heights.
Shot in a style that combines gritty realism, a bold and unforgettable color palette, soulful Bahamian music, and the use of local actors alongside seasoned pros, Rain takes us on a journey into the heart of a child, into the pulse of a country and the spirit of its people.
As you may know, the percentage of women directors hovers around 9%, which is a ridiculous statistic in 2009 (or ever). It's not (just) that Hollywood is sexist—-if female directors brought in the big bucks on opening weekend, studio heads would certainly sit up and take notice, as might Oscar voters. But how to find out when these films are showing? Well... come here! (Update: Hmm, the same year I start this blog, the Academy nominates TWO female-directed movies for Best Picture! Coincidence?)
