518 Best Movies to Watch by Female director (Page 27)

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, 2023

This taut chamber piece about NSA whistleblower Reality Winner (yes, that’s her real name) is based on the FBI’s account of her interrogation one June day in 2017. “Based on” doesn’t quite capture Reality’s exhaustive commitment to the facts, though, because this movie is essentially a dramatic reading of a verbatim transcript of the FBI agents’ recording that day. The only time it breaks with reality is when it reaches a redacted portion of the transcript, at which point characters glitch out of view, leaving us staring into the blank set around them. Otherwise, every cough, false start, and even every off-topic remark is recreated with exacting precision here, lending the film a paradoxically stilted, slightly stagy air. But rather than pull you out of the proceedings, Reality’s palpable artificiality only immerses us into the uneasy tension and surreality that its anxious protagonist must have been feeling that day.

That anxiety is contagious, thanks to the movie’s clinical style and central performance. The camerawork is largely unblinking, moving in uncomfortably close on Reality (Sydney Sweeney) as two FBI agents (Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis) subject her to their bizarre hot-cold interrogation, which ranges from seemingly friendly inquiries about her dog to jugular-aimed questions about the allegations against her. Sweeney shoulders all this pressure remarkably well, deftly keeping us as much in the dark as Winner tried to keep the FBI in — which makes not knowing the real story a benefit, rather than a barrier, to watching Reality.

Outside of Sweeney’s commanding performance, Reality feels somewhat limited by its absolute loyalty to the FBI’s transcript, though. Much of the film’s 83-minute runtime is dedicated to recreating the text, which leaves only a few minutes at the end for it to express its own point of view on Winner’s actions. Though these scant moments make for a compelling reframing of the charges against Winner, they feel overshadowed by and separate from the movie’s rigorous devotion to the transcript, which ultimately means Reality can’t quite transcend its status as merely an interesting filmmaking curio.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Allan Anthony Smith, Benny Elledge, Bill Maher, John Way, Josh Hamilton, Marchánt Davis, Sydney Sweeney, Tucker Carlson

Director: Tina Satter

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Shot from the movie

, 2023

Visual artist Ann Oren's first foray into feature-length filmmaking is a sensual delight and a gift that keeps on giving. Oren approaches her film with sincere dedication to every single building block: Piaffe looks, sounds, and feels sensational while being a fairly modest production. A true indie film, Piaffe verges on experimentation as a young woman named Eva (Simone Bucio) takes over the job of a foley artist from her sister. Even though she's under-qualified, she tries her best t0 come up with the sounds for a horse-themed commercial to no avail. However, in the process, she notices a bump on her lower back that grows into a horse's tail. Piaffe is a tale of metamorphosis, not only of the flesh, but also of the heart, as the themes it explores are also directly related to sexuality, submission, and, of course, love as a manifestation of all those things.

Genre: Thriller

Actor: Bjørn Melhus, Josef Ostendorf, Lea Draeger, Nico Ehrenteit, Sebastian Rudolph, Simon(è) Jaikiriuma Paetau, Simone Bucio, Tristan Bumm

Director: Ann Oren

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, 2023

Where Palm Trees and Power Lines may stumble in its depiction of lower-middle class ennui among American teenagers (who are all made to seem not just bored, but boring), it more than makes up for in its delicate handling of power dynamics in its central relationship. To an outsider, Lea's decisions to let a stranger get so close to her are maddening, but co-writer and director Jamie Dack is careful to emphasize that the teenager ultimately isn't to blame. And Lily McInerny's entirely naturalistic performance communicates a fear of both missing out on life experiences and of being totally out of her depth.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Armani Jackson, Auden Thornton, Gretchen Mol, John Minch, Jonathan Tucker, Kenny Johnston, Lily McInerny, Michael Petrone, Timothy Taratchila, Yvette Tucker

Director: Jamie Dack

Rating: R

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, 2018

An uplifting and inspiring movie with Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer. Jones stars as Supreme Court Justice Associate Ruth Bader Ginsburg in this biopic centered around her hallmark case against sex-based discrimination. While it doesn't feel like it truly conveys the power of Ginsburg's story, her determination, or all the odds that were stacked against her, it serves as a mellowed-down preview of her remarkable story. Watch this if you're in need of a good dose of inspiration.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Amanda MacDonald, Angela Galuppo, Armie Hammer, Arthur Holden, Ben Carlson, Cailee Spaeny, Callum Shoniker, Chris Mulkey, Dawn Ford, Felicity Jones, Francis X. McCarthy, Gabrielle Graham, Gary Werntz, Holly Gauthier-Frankel, Jack Reynor, Jeff Lillico, Joe Cobden, John Ralston, Justin Theroux, Karl Graboshas, Kathy Bates, Michael Dickson, Ronald Guttman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sam Waterston, Stephen Root, Wendy Crewson

Director: Mimi Leder

Rating: PG-13

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, 2020

Craig Foster’s bond with an octopus takes the spotlight in this heartfelt documentary set in the cold seas of South Africa. The title hints at the nature of this bond: the tentacled creature shows the human outsider the ropes in her watery den.

Both parties have an endless curiosity about one another, giving the filmmakers Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed much fuel for this sentimental doc. My Octopus Teacher features Foster diving in the ocean every day and waxing poetic through voiceovers about the remarkable ability of a wild animal to connect with him. This all takes place amidst his obsessive mapping of said animal’s habitat during what appears to be a mid-life crisis. It’s beautiful, yes, both visually and in its message of nature being something we can connect with to find meaning, but much of the story revolves around what Foster feels the octopus is doing in relation to him, and not about what it’s doing, period. The documentary becomes an exercise in making something that exists peacefully in its own little world all about some guy.

For a film that centers on an unlikely emotional attachment, it does explore the ocean and present the adventures one can embark on due to curiosity. Despite its faults, it manages to be informative and shows off gorgeous underwater cinematography.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Craig Foster

Director: James Reed, Philippa Ehrlich, Pippa Ehrlich

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, 2024

For better or for worse, we have no choice in the country we’re born in, the citizenship we first attain, and sometimes we’re forced to leave that country for our own safety. My Name is Loh Kiwan depicts a North Korean defector seeking refugee status in Belgium, but while the government deliberates, it’s a hard life he has to face, one that changes when he meets a fellow Korean who may not be an immigrant, but who’s just as lost as he is. While there are some subplots that falter halfway, My Name is Loh Kiwan still manages to stick the landing of being both a moving romance and an empathetic survival drama that highlights the struggles of refugees.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Choi Sung-eun, Heo Seon-haeng, Jo Han-chul, Kang Gil-woo, Kim Sung-ryung, Lee Il-hwa, Lee Sang-hee, Seo Hyun-woo, Song Joong-ki, Waël Sersoub, Woo Kang-min

Director: Kim Hee-jin

Rating: R

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Shot from the movie

, 2015

Why do we cling to the people that we love, but who clearly don’t treat us well? It’s a common question in romance films, one that often leads to a conclusion that people shouldn’t feel shackled to partners that don’t treat them right, but sometimes other films seem to shame these unfortunate lovers for making the wrong choice. My King doesn’t do that. Sure, Georgio can seem like an obvious asshole (he is), but writer-director Maïwenn makes clear that the same things that make him erratic– his spontaneity, his enjoyment of life, and his open acceptance– which Vincent Cassel superbly embodies, are also the same things that attracted Tony in the first place. And as Tony recovers her knee, the careful interstitching between her time at the center and her romance with Georgio visually parallels the physical and emotional wounds in an interesting way. Mon Roi is familiar romance stuff, but it’s the approach that makes the film work.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Chrystèle Saint-Louis Augustin, Emmanuelle Bercot, Félix Bossuet, Isild Le Besco, Laetitia Dosch, Louis Garrel, Paul Hamy, Vincent Cassel

Director: Maïwenn

Rating: NR

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, 2007

Most of us don't get to live our lives with our first loves, but sometimes that separation leads us to the love of our lives. This is true of the Orked trilogy, the third installment of which is named after the one other love Orked had before Jason. Without the interracial dynamic, one might expect that the dynamic between Orked and Mukhsin would be more simple, and sure, with her tomboyish self-confidence, it starts in that familiar way we would expect from a coming-of-age movie. However, writer-director Yasmin Ahmad challenges this expectation through a nostalgic, but no less honest, depiction of this love in a rural Malay village. It may not have the same obvious challenges, but Mukhsin proves through an endearing first love story that there are much more factors that could make or break even the most innocent childhood relationships, specifically Orked doesn't exactly fit in the ideal her community expects of her. It's not totally groundbreaking, but Mukhsin nonetheless sets the stage for Orked, and girls like her, to understandably seek for connection elsewhere.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Actor: Adibah Noor, Ho Yuhang, Mislina Mustaffa, Noorkhiriah, Sharifah Aleya, Sharifah Amani, Sharifah Aryana, Syafie Naswip, Taiyuddin Bakar, Yasmin Ahmad

Director: Yasmin Ahmad

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, 2009

In Tina Mabry’s first full length feature film Mississippi Damned she tells the story of three poor, Black adolescents as they advance into adulthood. The story is mostly centered on Kari Peterson, portrayed by Tessa Thompson, who has fallen witness and victim to violence/abuse since her childhood. As she navigates her trauma while facing poverty and familial issues, we begin to understand the inner machinations of Kari and those who have harmed her.

While Mississippi Damned isn’t particularly easy to digest, I consider it essential. As unflinchingly brutal as this film is, it taught me a lot about trauma and how to navigate my own. With performances as powerful as these, it’s impossible to forget this film.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Adam Clark, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, D.B. Woodside, Malcolm David Kelley, Malcolm Goodwin, Michael Hyatt, Simbi Khali, Tessa Thompson

Director: Tina Mabry

Rating: TV-MA

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, 1999

While better known for Pride & Prejudice, Emma, and Sense & Sensibility, Jane Austen wrote Mansfield Park, a novel that garnered differing critical interpretations, but still intrigued readers even today. The 1999 film adaptation does capture some of the original novel’s ideas, such as Fanny’s modesty, the Cinderella-like submissiveness as means for survival, and the quiet strength to remain as herself, but it also expands on certain elements that were mostly only alluded to in the original, such as the elements pulled from Jane Austen’s actual life and her own sympathies for anti-slavery. While the film isn’t fully faithful to the original novel and should be considered its own, Mansfield Park does retain some of the essentials that makes it distinctly Austen.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Alessandro Nivola, Amelia Warner, Anna Popplewell, Bruce Byron, Charles Edwards, Danny Worters, Elizabeth Earl, Embeth Davidtz, Frances O'Connor, Gordon Reid, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, Harold Pinter, Hilton McRae, Hugh Bonneville, James Purefoy, Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell, Lindsay Duncan, Philip Sarson, Sheila Gish, Sophia Myles, Victoria Hamilton

Director: Patricia Rozema

Rating: PG-13

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, 2014

This documentary is about filmmaker Lacey Schwartz, who stands out from her devout New York Jewish family with her darker skin tone. For most of her life, the family attributed this to genes from a distant Sicilian ancestor.

But suspicions have always been there, what a family member calls “the 500-pound elephant in the room”. Schwartz embarks on a journey of untangling family secrets, self-discovery, with fascinating questions on race and identity. If you like family history documentaries like Stories We Tell, you will love this.

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Actor: Joshua Corwin, Lacey Schwartz Delgado, Mehret Mandefro

Director: Lacey Schwartz Delgado

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, 2020

Sincere and direct, Ana Rocha de Sousa’s debut feature is a tragic portrayal of an immigrant family in the United Kingdom. Known best abroad for her role in Love Actually, Lúcia Moniz shines as devoted mother Bela, who, along with Jota (Ruben Garcia) struggles to keep their family together. The couple and their three children, including the deaf middle child Lu (Sophia Myles), come under the scrutiny of social services, especially after the unexplained bruises. While at times heavy-handed, the film raises important questions on family separation and social services, especially with their limitations with children with disabilities.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Aaron Brookner, Ângela Pinto, António Capelo, Brian Bovell, Holly Horne, Jay Lycurgo, Jon Rumney, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Lúcia Moniz, Maisie Sly, Ruben Garcia, Sian Abrahams, Sophia Myles, Susanna Cappellaro

Director: Ana Rocha de Sousa

Rating: Not Rated

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, 2023

You don’t have to be an avid fan to enjoy Let the Canary Sing, which presents itself as a joyous blast to the past and an enlightening account of How to Make a Superstar in the ‘80s. Lauper had some help from the industry of course (not that she always listened) but she was a self-made, self-promoting artist who reveled in her outsider status and defiantly punk style. It’s a joy to see her find her voice and cement her status in an overcrowded market, and it’s just as great to see how much work was put into musical gems “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “True Colors,” which have served and continues to serve as anthems of sorts for her unwavering advocacies for women and the queer community.

Genre: Documentary, Music

Actor: Cyndi Lauper

Director: Alison Ellwood

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