Films About Women Opening This Week
Inside Out (Pick of the Week)
Pixar’s latest film is nothing short of brilliant. Taking place within the colorful labyrinth of an 11-year-old girl’s brain, “Inside Out” finds five emotions — Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) — trying to help preteen Riley adjust to a cross-country move from picturesque Minnesota to dingy San Francisco. Joy has always been the dominant force in Riley’s mind, but as the tomboyish girl deals with change and grows out of childhood, the exuberant emotion finds herself crowded out by (the hilariously mopey) Sadness. Joy’s relentless forced cheer — rather reminiscent of Poehler’s Leslie Knope on TV’s “Parks and Rec” — eventually leads to the realization that Sadness has a rightful and valuable place in Riley’s head-quarters (get it?). Featuring Pixar’s second-ever female protagonist and a wildly imaginative new world (within Riley’s head), “Inside Out” is brainy, emotionally honest and most powerful as a parent’s bittersweet farewell to the uncomplicated happiness his daughter used to enjoy. (Inkoo Kang)
Read our interview with “Inside Out” director Pete Docter.
Films About Women Currently Playing
Madame Bovary — Directed and Co-Written by Sophie Barthes (available on VOD)
It’s Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong — Directed and Written by Emily Ting
L.A. Slasher — Co-Written by Abigail Wright and Elizabeth Morris
The 11th Hour
Spy
Gemma Bovery — Co-Written and Directed by Anne Fontaine
I Believe in Unicorns — Written and Directed by Leah Meyerhoff
Barely Lethal
Tomorrowland
When Marnie Was There
Cinderella
The Divergent Series: Insurgent
I’ll See You In My Dreams
Pitch Perfect 2 — Directed by Elizabeth Banks; Written by Kay Cannon
In the Name of My Daughter
Hot Pursuit — Directed by Anne Fletcher
Marie’s Story
The Age of Adaline
Clouds of Sils Maria
Woman in Gold
It Follows
The Hunting Ground (doc)
Iris (doc)
Films Directed by Women Opening This Week
Infinitely Polar Bear — Written and Directed by Maya Forbes (Pick of the Week)
Rarely does an onscreen family feel as steeped in detail and history as in Maya Forbes’ fleet, semi-autobiographical directorial debut. Bipolar Cameron (a never better Mark Ruffalo), an impoverished preppy from a Boston Brahmin dynasty, is charged with taking care of his two young daughters when his ex-wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) enrolls in Columbia’s business school in NYC. Cameron is compellingly incapable of feeling shame, which makes it difficult for him to relate to his self-conscious daughters, who are embarrassed by their father’s manic episodes and their family’s relative poverty. (Forbes absolutely nails the children’s innocent but highly attuned mortification of growing up with no money and being forced to attend schools they know are underfunded.) If it occasionally veers into romanticizing mental illness, this achingly heartfelt drama more than makes up for it with its sensitive discussions of race and its candor about the sacrifices families have to undergo for the sake of the future — that nebulous but urgently important time when we hope that everything will finally be okay. (Inkoo Kang)
Find tickets to “Infinitely Polar Bear.”
Eden — Directed and Co-Written by Mia Hansen-Løve
Based on the experiences of Mia Hansen-Løve’s brother Sven, the film follows Paul (Félix de Givry), a teenager in the underground scene of early-nineties Paris. Rave parties dominate that culture, but he’s drawn to the more soulful rhythms of Chicago’s garage house. He forms a DJ collective named Cheers, and together he and his friends plunge into the ephemeral nightlife of sex, drugs and endless music. Greta Gerwig costars. (Press materials)
Phantom Halo — Directed and Co-Written by Antonia Bogdanovich; Co-Written by Anne Heffron (also available on VOD)
Brothers Samuel (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and Beckett Emerson (Luke Kleintank) are barely scraping by. Their father, Warren (Sebastian Roché), continues to gamble and drink away any money they bring home. With all the havoc that is constantly going on in their lives, the family members each find solace in his own way, through Shakespeare, comic books and impossible love affairs. Beckett seizes the opportunity to make some easy money by counterfeiting in hopes of repaying his father’s debts. When Beckett’s plan goes awry, the family must decide what’s most important or pay the ultimate price. (Press materials)
Find tickets to “Phantom Halo.”
The New Rijksmuseum (doc) — Directed by Oeke Hoogendijk — June 19
In 2003, the ambitious renovation of one of the world’s greatest museums began. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, home to a glorious collection including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer, was supposed to reopen its doors in 2008 after five years of construction. But from the start, the project was opposed by unyielding bureaucrats and public resistance. The museum directors battled politicians, designers, curators and even the Dutch Cyclists Union as they struggled to complete the renovation and put its massive collection back on public display. Five years late, with costs exceeding half a billion dollars, the museum finally reopened. (Press materials)
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
The Yes Men Are Revolting — Co-Directed by Laura Nix
Vendetta — Directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska
The Wolfpack (doc) — Directed by Crystal Moselle
An Open Secret (doc) — Directed by Amy Berg
Sunshine Superman (doc) — Directed by Marah Strauch
One Cut, One Life (doc) — Co-Directed by Lucia Small
McFarland, USA — directed by Niki Caro
Films Written by Women Opening This Week
The Face of An Angel — Co-Written by Barbie Latza Nadeau (also available on VOD)
Both a journalist and a documentary filmmaker chase the story of a murder and its prime suspect. Kate Beckinsale and Cara Delevingne costar. (Press materials)
Find tickets to “The Face of An Angel.”
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Jurassic World — Co-Written by Amanda Silver
Dawn Patrol — Co-Written by Rachel Long
The Connection — Co-Written by Audrey Diwan
VOD/DVD Releasing This Week
Druid Peak (doc) — Directed by Marni Zelnick (June 22)
Stop the Pounding Heart (June 22)
All the Wrong Reasons — Written and Directed by Gia Milani (June 22)
Survivor (June 23)
Upcoming TV Premieres By and About Women
Rookie Blue (ABC) — June 25 — Co-Created by Morywn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone
Ambitious young cops try to prove themselves in their high-stakes careers, in which the smallest mistake can have deadly consequences. At the core of the close-knit group is perfectionist Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym), whose father was a homicide detective before he burned out on the job. The series follows Andy and her four colleagues — Dov Epstein, Gail Peck, Traci Nash and Chris Diaz — as they experience the trials, triumphs and tribulations of police work, as well as its effect on their personal lives. (Press materials)
