In honor of Women’s History Month, here are a few films directed by women that deserve more recognition.
1. Little Women (Greta Gerwig)
Based on the acclaimed novel by Louisa May Alcott, the film Little Women follows the lives of the four March sisters. Meg is the eldest sister who marries and starts a family. Jo is the second oldest sister who aspires to be a writer. The third oldest, Amy, is a painter and the youngest, Beth, is a musician. The film goes back and forth between the future and the past as Jo reflects on her life while telling the story of her sisters’ lives. These four young women are challenged with life, career and love while trying to live on their own terms during the Civil War. It stars an ensemble cast including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep.
2. Mamma Mia! (Phyllida Lloyd)
Starting off as a successful Broadway musical, Mamma Mia! became a romantic comedy/musical that follows Sophie, a young bride-to-be who invites three men to her wedding with the hopes that one of them is her biological father. Her mother, Donna, manages a hotel in the Greek Islands and helps plan Sophie’s wedding with the help of her two best friends. The film is based on the songs from ABBA, a pop group from the 1970s. The movie stars Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth and Dominic Cooper.
3. The Edge of Seventeen (Kelly Fremon Craig)
A coming-of-age comedy-drama film, The Edge of Seventeen focuses on awkward 17-year-old high school junior Nadine who lives in the shadows of her all-star brother Darian, who ends up dating her best friend Krista. Feeling all alone, Nadine forms a bond with her teacher Mr. Bruner and often goes to him for support. She later becomes friends with Erwin, who gives her hope that her life will get better after high school. The film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Hayden Szeto and Woody Harrelson. The film is Craig’s directorial debut.
4. The Farewell (Lulu Wang)
An American comedy-drama film, The Farewell centers around Chinese American writer Billi who follows her family to China to attend a fake wedding. The family’s beloved matriarch, Nai Nai, is diagnosed with a terminal illness with only a few months left to live. Nai Nai is the only one in the family that doesn’t know she herself has such little time left. The family deceives and manipulates her while keeping her diagnosis a secret and using the fake wedding as an excuse to reunite everyone together. The film stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin and Zhao Shuzhen. A bilingual film in Mandarin Chinese and English, Wang based the film on her real-life experiences, which she expands upon in her radio story What You Don’t Know.
5. The Kids Are Alright (Lisa Cholodenko)
Among one of the first mainstream movies to star a same-sex couple raising teenagers, The Kids Are Alright is a comedy-drama film. Couple Nic and Jules have been together for 20 years and have raised two children, both with the same sperm donor. As the daughter, Joni, is leaving for college and her younger brother, Laser, starts to grow curious about who their father is, they reach out to their sperm donor, Paul, in hopes of growing a relationship with him. The film stars Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson.
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