Tales from Three Women

I have been off work since December 20, which means my ability to put together a coherent sentence has diminished significantly. (You should have seen how long it took me to write that.) I already feel sorry for the people who try to communicate with me at work tomorrow.

It also means I have watched a ridiculous number of movies—21 to be exact. Six of those were Christmas movies, most of which I (and you) have seen 50 times. I did catch one for the first time, Klaus, an absolutely delightful animated movie from 2019 that will now be part of the regular rotation.

Going back through my list, I see that there are nine movies I want to recommend, but you have enough on your plate in the coming week without me piling on more. Also the Golden Globes are on tonight, and you need to watch those so we can discuss. So here are three very different stories of what it means to be a woman.

Babygirl (in theaters)
So much more than I thought it would be. Yeah it's fun sexy times, but it's also a deep exploration of female sexuality and trauma that raises very interesting questions. This is the second film of 2024 (The Substance being the other) in which an older woman gets naked physically and emotionally in service of examining a complex aspect of femininity. To say I'm here for it is an understatement.

Nightbitch (Hulu)
And on that note, here's another movie in which an actress enters beast mode to highlight womens' experience, this time tackling motherhood. It's not perfect - I think the husband was miscast, for one - but Amy Adams' performance sure as hell is. I swear to god her rant to the moms' group in the library was taken directly from my mouth.

The Marriage of Maria Braun (Max)
Renowned filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his frequent muse Hanna Schygulla depict the life of a woman in post-war Germany in a barn-burner of a story. (No, really.) I love how she never once apologizes for the choices she is forced to make to survive; choices that lead to her thriving (to a point). This is a great movie more people should know about. Check it out!

Alright, off we go into the breach once more. Godspeed to us all.

xoxo,
Carla