Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff

In a very interesting piece in Variety writer Justin Chang says that it is the Year of the Woman at the Venice Film Festival.  He starts off talking about the stark sexuality that he has seen in some movies.  Films that show actual female bodies.  He lingers on the film Black Venus which is about how the woman known as the Hottentot Venus was exploited in Europe in the 19th century.  And remember, they haven’t gotten to Julie Taymor’s closing film The Tempest.

He says that the film:

raises thorny questions about the ethics of representation and female objectification that will loom large over this intensely fascinating film as it makes its way through festivals and, hopefully, into arthouse cinemas.

He also makes the point that three women’s films — Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Attenberg, Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff and Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere — are deservedly in the competition.

That’s where he lost me.

Would anyone ever talk about a film directed by man and say that it “merited inclusion?”

But he also stands up for Coppola whose new film is not getting great buzz or reviews and reminds people that it is in the same vein as Lost in Translation which was lauded by critics and got her an Oscar nomination for best director.

He asks:

One is tempted to suggest Coppola wouldn’t be quite so harshly judged if she weren’t, to put it bluntly, a woman.

As an American, he knows how bad it sucks for women here and so it is nice to see someone talk about how there are so many great films being made about women outside the US.

This is my favorite line of the piece:

What it all means isn’t clear, exactly, but speaking as a resident of a country where the box office triumph of “Sex and the City” is considered an encouraging sign, it was refreshing to see so many female stories placed so casually front and center on the Lido’s international stage.

Those of here in the US would love to see some of the great stories about women at Venice here at home.

Year of the woman at Venice (Variety)

• Filed Under:  
• Entertainment, Film

• Tags:
• Movies
• Festivals
• Sofia Coppola
• Athina Rachel Tsangari
• Kelly Reichardt
• Venice Film Festival
• Attenberg
• Meeks Crossing
• Somewhere

View Original Post at womenandhollywood.com

Humor: The Six Most Common Personality Types on Facebook

Callista Gingrich’s Suits: Mood Rings Revealing the Soul of Her Husband’s Campaign

Advice for the New Royal Bride, H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco

Does Fashion Deserve To Be In a Museum?

Emma Stone on Dropping Out of High School, Adjusting to Fame, and Her Hardest Hollywood Moment Yet

Sarah Palin Invokes World’s Least Creative Excuse to Explain Tour Suspension

Q&A;: Marianne Faithfull Doesn’t Like to Talk About the Rolling Stones

Gaga, Japan's Lady in Shining Armor?

Does Best Buy Own the Word “Geek”?

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.”