Over the past decade, major female characters have become more visible and relevant in the cinema. Something that was reflected almost immediately in the series, especially on the platforms of streaming like Netflix. This is a phenomenon of considerable interest, which allowed a whole new plethora of women to star in new stories.
Women in search of their existential purpose, with a kind of force that goes beyond the physical to celebrate the spiritual and the intellectual. A journey that has brought to cinema and now, to television, many of his most interesting interpretations. But above all, a deep understanding of feminine nature, its motivations and its objectives.
Of course, this is the culmination of a valuable evolution of women in show business. Of damsels in distress, propitiatory victims and idealized sexual objects. Female figures have become complex concepts in pop culture. To the point of reconstructing the idea of power, vulnerability and value at an entirely original layer. Most new Hollywood productions carry the banner of giving women new places for emotional exploration, and some of them are Netflix originals, whether in the form of a movie or a TV series.
Whether they are looking for a space of their own or an interpretation of the world around them. The new heroines of the cinematographic universe are the symbols of a renewed vision of the sensitive and the eloquent. A journey towards a more realistic reflection on women and their place in history and culture. We leave you with five great films about female characters that that you can watch right now on Netflix that prove it.
Spirited away
For more than thirty years, Studio Ghibli has stood out for its extraordinary female characters. By also emphasizing the richness of the world, the context and the stories that surround them. And in particular, the film Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki, is a celebration of a type of heroine who combines a huge heart with a strong will, and is available on Netflix.
The film is a tribute to a whole series of seemingly simple ideas about women, which the plot turns into powerful allegories. Of mixture of fragility and strength to Chihiro’s ability to become her own heroine.
Miyazaki manages to weave together the perception of some kind of inner power, which creates an extraordinary emotional landscape. Gradually, the adventure becomes an exploration of what gives meaning to the heart of the human spirit. All this through the very young Chihiro, who becomes the center of a surreal and mysterious intrigue, more and more beautiful and complex. A towering figure in the midst of a powerful new type of woman, of considerable plot value.
It’s the only movie on our list of recommendations that isn’t an original Netflix production, but is in their catalog in many countries.
The lost girls
The exploration of crimes involving women is often incomplete in cinema. From the transformation of the victim into an allegory of larger problems to the morbid perception of crime. It is rare that the reconstruction of a violent circumstance includes a reflection on the environment. At best, the context surrounding those who suffered it. Whereas The lost girls by Liz Garbus, with its direct and well-constructed air, is an exception. The Netflix original also tackles all sorts of issues around aggression, sexism, and misogyny appropriately and cleverly.
When Mari’s (Amy Ryan) daughter goes missing, the character will discover that appealing to the law means traversing a complicated bureaucratic chasm. Worse still, a painful journey in the midst of discrimination and omission. The film, based on a true story, looks at Mari’s long journey to find answers. It also paints a poignant picture of how justice systems sometimes put prejudice ahead of justice. A disturbing subject the director thinks from a sensitive point of view.
In the end, Mari will find that finding her daughter is just the first step in a disturbing crack in the justice system and the way it views women. A strange connotation of good and evil in our time. But also, a questioning of considerable interest on the way in which contemporary culture rationalizes the idea of the victim.
more than mothers
Mother-child relationships are often a complicated subject in cinema. Specifically, because they involve narratives that often lead to tearful or moralizing drama. But more than mothers by Cindy Chupack is a funny and poignant insight into a sensitive bond. It is also an insightful celebration of the perception of contemporary motherhood, with its gray areas and, ultimately, its search for answers. The film, a Netflix original production, was released in early August 2019.
Carol (Angela Bassett), Gillian (Patricia Arquette) and Helen (Felicity Huffman) begin to rethink how they communicate with their respective children. All this, in the middle of Mother’s Day and perhaps, a sensitive moment that brings them together in an in-between of uncomfortable questions. “Have I been a good mother? wonders Carol, formidable and brilliant. “Or do I think I was and I haven’t figured out where I failed yet?” “. This is just one of many questions the film asks with a certain mocking air, but certainly with more depth than it seems.
For More Than Mothers Is there a way to meet all of society’s and culture’s expectation of motherhood? The film offers no direct answer on the subject. Yet she comes to a thrilling conclusion: Ultimately, the love between mothers and children is a mystery. A strange, powerful and always changing. Perhaps the deepest message of a seemingly simple plot that ends up surprising us with its sensitivity.
Moxie
Women’s stories, told from a female point of view, are often difficult to tell in depth. Mostly because of how easily the story can border on stereotype. This is disturbing at a time when the gendered gaze is under constant scrutiny. Amy Poehler, bittersweet comedy veteran and the kind of twisted humor that made her a star, she has the enthusiasm to do it.
In fact, his movie Moxie based on the book of the same name by Jennifer Mathieu, is an endearing analysis of adolescence. It is also a journey that shows how ideals become more powerful than abstract perceptions of justice and morality. The film, a Netflix original production, will be released in March 2021.
Poehler depicts the hallways of American high schools as complicated spaces for young women. Especially when most of them have to put up with judgments about how they look and how they understand their gender and sexuality. But instead of turning her approach into a drama, she navigates the big questions with benevolence, agility and without prejudice. From sexual orientation to female power. The director explores the roots of the new visibility of women’s political thought.
At the same time, she interweaves criticism with an eloquent look at the lives of young women today. The narrative raises the point of hostility between students and the culture of violence as a social wound. His gaze encompasses all the little rites of passage and even the feeling that adolescence is an inevitable transformation. To this, the director adds an ingredient of social and cultural issues, which creates a solid mix. A reflection on the concerns of a generation of women in search of answers to the great questions of the time.
Story of a marriage
Married life is often portrayed in Hollywood in a manichean and, more often than not, simplistic way. It manifests itself either in an extreme idealization of great watered-down dramas or in works of painful cruelty. In between, women are often portrayed as victims or villains. That is why, the story of a marriage by Noah Baumbach is unique and sensitive. Especially, by creating a connotation that does not show heroes or adversaries but characters full of emotional wounds.
In fact, the film breaks with an old tradition of cinema. Marriages on the silver screen have a purpose, and their dissolution a lesson. A formula that was repeated for decades until it became superficial. Rarely do plots revolve around a larger idea of coexistence and the little cracks in everyday life. But the production manages to transform this rupture into a larger bond, in a reflection on human nature. And more precisely, on the figure of the woman in the middle of a situation of deep suffering.
Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) are a couple like any other. A person who has fallen in love with sincerity and walked a path of adult disenchantment. In the end, the debacle of living together shows the transformation of each other in the midst of the dilemmas that beset them. But it is above all Nicole who must dialogue with her most personal ideals of love and romance. A firm and sincere look at the contemporary woman and how they deal with small private tragedies. The story of a marriage is also a Netflix original production and made its first appearance in early December 2019.
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