Hello and welcome to Thelma & Alice #17. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, no? Roe fell and all I have to offer you is movies. I’ve included one film below that might help you grapple with the fact that people all over the U.S. no longer have the right to abortion, but most of these selections have nothing to do with reproductive rights because I don’t think films made by women should be regarded as an education in oppression. I personally believe that the main reason you should watch more movies made by women is that they will bring pleasure and joy and are more likely to include iconic fashion moments involving menswear.
Thank you for reading, as always. If you would like to join me in an experiment with the substack algorithm, please hit the “like” button for this post (and others, if you wish!). I have no idea if it will help to bring me new readers on substack, but it might? Please also share this newsletter as you see fit—with friends, enemies, social media buddies, etc. And I am here for any questions or comments. Let me know if you’ve watched any of these movies, if you liked or hated them, if there are genres you’d like to see more or less of, or platforms you prefer. Do you want more TV? (Less TV?) More/less free picks? More/less theatrical releases? I’m curious, if you’d like to share.
One to See in the Theaters
Fire of Love (2022)
Directed by Sara Dosa
Only in theaters
This documentary about husband-wife volcanologists, Katia and Maurice Krafft, is both informative, in the spirit of a nature documentary, and incredibly stylish. When I first saw the trailer, I thought Katia and Maurice looked like Wes Anderson characters with their color-coordinated outfits and quirky banter. Turns out they are scientists who had to learn how to create compelling images on film and video to raise money for their expeditions. Observing volcanos up close is incredibly dangerous, and the film opens with a photograph of the two of them together the day before their untimely death. Director Sara Dosa weaves together the footage they left behind into a beautiful collage, telling the story of their love, as well as their careers. It will premiere on Disney+ this fall, but if you can catch it in the theaters this summer, it’s well worth the effort. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
For Your Inner Cowgirl
Bitterbrush (2022)
Directed by Emelie Mahdavian
VOD $6.99 (Available on Apple, Amazon, Vudu, etc)
My husband asked me the other day if I am turning into “a documentary person.” I don’t know what this means, but it’s true that I’ve been watching more nonfiction films. I still prefer watching actors to non-actors—a really gifted actor can show you how to live—but lately I have appreciated how documentaries reward observation. You can learn a lot just by taking in the details of the setting. This is especially true of Bitterbrush, which brings you into the daily life of two young women, Colie and Hollyn, who are expert cattle herders. The film follows them over the course of a four-month job in Idaho, and you watch them as they navigate a spectacular landscape from late spring to early fall. Their friendship is built on mutual respect, a goofy sense of humor, and a shared love of horses and the outdoors. This is a quiet, slice-of-life movie that will calm your soul. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
If You Need a Good Cry After the Recent SCOTUS Rulings
What the Constitution Means to Me (2020)
Director: Marielle Heller
Writer: Heidi Schreck
Streaming on Amazon Prime
Here’s the topical film I promised. Weirdly, Amazon classifies it as a TV show. (Here is a link, it’s hard to find.) It’s not a TV show, it’s a filmed adaptation of Heidi Schreck’s award-winning play, What the Constitution Means to Me. I saw this live in 2019 when it was in New York, and it has the feeling of a one-woman show, a format that easily translates to the small screen. Schreck’s play is autobiographical as she looks back on her teenage years when she used to compete for scholarship money by giving speeches at Legion Halls about the importance of the Constitution. She won a lot of competitions but as she got older, her understanding of the Constitution became complicated by her growing awareness of the discrimination and bias found in the original document, one that was written to benefit and protect white male property owners—“property” being something that often included other human beings, including wives. What seems at first like a rambling trip down memory lane, with digressions into her troubled family history, emerges as a patriotic critique of a document that can either be expanded upon, to bring more rights to more people, or one to be interpreted narrowly, dragging us back to the past. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Only Connect
Language Lessons (2021)
Directed by Natalie Morales
Written by Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales
Streaming on HBO
You can tell this movie was made during the pandemic because the characters are never in the same room together, instead interacting with each other over video chat. The format of a big talking head with a smaller talking head in the corner will be familiar to anyone (everyone at this point) who has used Zoom or FaceTime in the past two years. This may sound like an annoying set-up, but what I liked about Language Lessons was that it addressed the challenges of pandemic life—isolation, grief, and loneliness—without being about the pandemic. There is no mention of Covid-19 in this film, if it even exists in this universe. It explores the relationship that develops between an online Spanish tutor (Natalie Morales) and her student (Mark Duplass) when life events bring them together in unexpected ways. It's a sweet story that some might find a bit earnest, but it was what I needed this month. Like many projects produced by the Duplass Brothers, the writing and performances are straightforward and committed. I always appreciate the emotional honesty of their filmmaking, as well as their support of up-and-coming directors and screenwriters like Morales. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
TV Corner
Abbott Elementary, Season 1 (2021)
Created by Quinta Brunson
I realize that you have probably heard of Abbott Elementary, especially since it was just nominated for a bunch of Emmys. But maybe you’re like me, and you’ve been resisting it. I avoided it because I don’t usually like network sitcoms, which always seem out of touch with reality, and not in a good way. I am also the daughter of a school superintendent and I grew up hearing about a lot of school-related drama, so I didn’t feel like I needed an inside look into the lives of elementary school teachers. But, my son was curious about it, so we started watching it as a family and…what a great show! It is warm, funny, and the teachers are interesting, well-developed characters. Quinta Brunson, who created the show, stars as Janine, a newbie teacher who is as enthusiastic as she is insecure. Like a lot of twentysomethings, Janine hasn’t quite found her way in her personal life and her vulnerability is charming and relatable. Yes, Abbott Elementary is sitcom-ey with predictable plotlines and corny jokes, but it feels grounded in lived experience, with a true understanding of the joys and frustrations of teaching in a school that is short on staffing and resources. Having said all that, the main reason I watch it is to hear my kids laugh. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER