Tag Archives: domestic violence

7,0-7,9, drama,, female director, first feature, love, sex

“Altered Perception” by Kate Rees Davies (USA, 2017)

first feature / cinema of substance

Altered Perception

With its strong but disturbing message, its unconventional camera work. and its very original script, this movie deserves a much more encouraging reaction, but it seems that few critics ventured to see it. Or is it because the pharmaceutical industry has been lobbying around? 🙂
Very original first feature in the trend “cinema-vérirté” / Nice team-work although at times awkwardly amateurish / Pity Kate Davies didn’t find it necessary to provide the viewer with a cinematic conclusion other than a few quotes from Forbes and Vanity Fair.

Cast:  Jon Huertas, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Mark Burnham
Director: Kate Rees Davies
Writers: Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Jon Huertas, Travis Romero
Music by Randy Chance
Cinematography by Steve Romano
Film Editing by Jon Artigo, Vance Crofoot

6,0-6,9, drama,, female director

“The Secret Life Of Bees” by Gina Prince-Bythewood (USA, 2008)

The Secret Life Of Bees

A weaker work in this director’s oeuvre, with unconvincing cast, situations, and dialogues

Cast: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany
Written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd
Music by Mark Isham
Cinematography by Rogier Stoffers
Film Editing by Terilyn A. Shropshire

8,0-8,9, drama,, female director

“Hounddog” (Deborah Kampmeier, USA 2007)

Hounddog

“Rape and repressions are the two sides of the same coin. When you rape a girl, the problem is not that you’re taking away her purity, which gets everyone all up in arms. It’s that you’re taking away her wholeness. Trying to keep her pure, repressing her sexuality also takes her wholeness. I don’t want my daughter to grow up pure. I want her to grow whole.”  says Anja in Split.
The idea of sexual violence taking a woman’s or a girl’s wholeness is the leading theme in Deborah Kampmeier’s three movies (Split, Virgin, and Hounddog).

Cast: Dakota Fanning, David Morse, Piper Laurie, Afemo Omilami, Robin Wright Penn, Cody Hanford, Jill Scott
Written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier
Music: Gisburg
Cinematography: Jim Denault
Photography: Edward Lachman
Editing: Sabine Hoffman

 

7,0-7,9, drama,, female director, romance,

“Virgin” (Deborah Kampmeier, USA 2003)

Virgin

A few aspects that are common to Split and to Virgin: The female lead is a ‘good’ person but some things she does puts her on the margin of society / She loves but is not loved back / A man destroys her life.
Unbearable music

Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Robin Wright Penn, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Charles Socarides, Socorro Santiago, Peter Garety, Stephanie Gatchet
Written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier
Cinematography: Benjamin Wolf
Editing: Jane Pia Abramowitz

8,0-8,9, comedy, drama,, female director, romance,

“Parched” (Leena Yadav, India 2015)

parched

Director: Leena Yadav
Writers: Supratik Sen (dialogue), Leena Yadav
Actors: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Lehar Khan

Domestic violence, honor, infertility, prostitution, child marriage, rape… These themes are treated in a traditional gender setting in Rajasthan.

The message of the movie is straightforward: while most men drink, commit adultery, are jealous and violent, women have fun, bring changes… and are at least as sexualized as their male counterparts.